


Cufflinks

by Likhoradka



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Minor Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-30
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-22 22:28:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 58,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/615056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Likhoradka/pseuds/Likhoradka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is full of many creatures that prey on humans. It is up to men and women known as ‘Hunters’ to fight against the dark. Lucky Hunters rely on the help of angels they have magically bound to their service. Sam and Dean may be good Hunters, but they have yet to capture an angel. One day, Sam finds an angel and seizes the opportunity to bind the angel to himself. Little did Sam and Dean know just what they were getting into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be lighthearted and like an obnoxious anime, but it quickly spiraled out of control. Approximate ages because I'm apparently incapable of writing this stuff in the actual story: Dean: 26, Sam: 22, Gabriel: 28, Castiel: 23. Apologies for plot holes and inconsistencies. Also, the cuffs are like slap bracelets. Again, incapable of addressing this in the story.

Humans have always struggled for survival against the nightmares lurking in the dark. For centuries, their numbers were slowly falling. In one last stand, a powerful witch changed the people of her village, giving them the power to fend off the monsters.

It had worked. Humanity was saved. The people of the village traveled to other villages, helping their fellow humans fight. They settled down soon after and formed families.

It was when the children of these villagers were born that the beings known as angels and demons came into the world. Each special villager's first born was a set of twins. One angel and one demon. Any other children they had after were normal humans.

Angels looked human except for the wings protruding from their back. Their wings were beautiful, ranging in color from white to soft hues. They were given names, ranking them based on the number of wings they had. Archangels had six wings, High Angels had four, and Low Angels had only two.

Demons, on the other hand, had no wings. They were able to sift through the air as a thick, black cloud of smoke, and their eyes were fully colored. White, black, red, or gold.

At first, everything was fine. But, the young demons began displaying some distressing habits. It started small; items would go missing, only to turn up later in the demon's room. Worry truly set in when animals went missing, their mangled corpses littering the outside edges of the villages. And then, neighbors turned on one another. When one such fight ended in death, black smoke was seen escaping from the deceased's mouth.

Word quickly spread from village to village, and the demons were run out, forced into the wilderness to fend for themselves.

Out of fear, the humans sought a way to control the angels. They created a spell and inscribed it to a metal cuff. The spell would bind an angel to the human that placed the cuff on the angel's right wrist.

Anything the human commanded, the angel would feel compelled to comply. It did not take long for the angels to catch on to what was happening and flee. Some chose to stay, volunteering to be bound to a member of their family, wanting to protect them.

When it was seen how an angel could fight a monster, every family wanted one. Some humans went off in search of an angel to claim as their own. Few succeeded. Those who did, began offering their services for a small fee. A hunter who once made his living hunting big game, now made his way in hunting monsters.

This was how the Hunter came into being. Brave, young men and women would travel the country, hunting monsters and ghosts. All the while, looking to catch an angel in between hunts.

If a Hunter was in town on a job, he or she would normally be offered free room and board. It became a tradition. Payment for a job well done, or a Hunter's last meal.

It was true that a Hunter with a bound angel stood a much better chance, but that did not stop young hopefuls looking for excitement and adventure.

Sam and Dean Winchester were brought into the Hunter lifestyle at a young age. Their mother had come from a long and prestigious line of Hunters. But this fame painted a target on the Campbell family. Family members were being picked off one by one until only Mary remained. She ran, changed her name, and released the angel her father had caught. She ended up in Lawrence, Kansas. There, she met John Winchester. Just a normal man with no interest in the supernatural. Together, they had two children and life was good. Until the demons managed to track her down.

With Mary's death, John took up the title of Hunter. He needed to find the demon that killed Mary and avenge her death. His two sons were living the life that every young boy wanted. Traveling, seeing the world, and hunting monsters. John quickly earned a name for himself. He was an excellent Hunter. And he did it all without the aid of an angel. At least, that was what the outside world saw. What Sam and Dean saw was another story. Their father was desperate to find an angel. An angel would be able to help him track down the demon that killed his wife.

As the boys grew older, Sam yearned for a normal life. He wanted a regular job. Get married and have kids. So when he was accepted into college, he left. Little did he know, the demons were waiting for something like this to happen. A pair of demons showed up in his dorm room one night. His girlfriend, Jess, was caught in the crossfire.

Sam left the college life and his dream behind. He joined back up with his father and brother. Just as things were getting back to normal, the demons struck again.

A vicious car wreck left Dean in a coma for a week, while Sam and John faced less threatening injuries. Hospitals were protected from all manner of monsters, but not well-bribed men. John died from a bullet to the head before Sam tackled the intruder.

A couple years passed and Sam and Dean slowly found themselves being pulled into another family. Bobby Singer was a good Hunter. Knew what he was doing. And he had a High Angel. Karen was the sweetest woman Sam and Dean had ever met. Her wings were the purest of white. And she made the best pies. Every time Sam and Dean felt that they were about to outstay their welcome, she would come out of the kitchen, a steaming pie in each hand. It wasn't until much later that they realized she was trying to keep them there. Letting them know they were a part of the family and would never be unwelcome.

One night, a call came in, reporting a strange series of deaths happening in a small college town. When Bobby described to the boys just how people were dying, Karen piped up, declaring that it sounded like the work of a Trickster.

And with that, Sam and Dean were off. Once they reached the town and began asking questions, rumors of an angel being in the area surfaced. Dean was ecstatic. This was going to be his chance.

Thanks to John's obsession with catching an angel, Sam and Dean carried a binding cuff with them at all times. Neither really thought they would ever need it, but it was part of their morning ritual. Hair, teeth, clothes, wallet, cuff.

Sam felt happy for his brother. It had been a while since he'd seen Dean so excited. The last time being when they first met Karen and found out she made amazing pies.

As Dean went off to follow up on a lead, Sam stopped at a drugstore and picked up a pack of gummy worms. He found a quiet spot at a nearby park and waited for Dean to call him. He wasn't aware of the presence that had followed him.

Sam opened the bag of gummies and popped one in this mouth.

'Hey, there!' said a voice to his right.

Sam jumped and turned his head, his nose brushing against the nose of the speaker. 'Uh...hello,' he replied uncertainly. He could feel his cheeks burning. His vision was filled with the face of a young man with golden hair and eyes.

The young man grinned. 'Gimme some sugar, baby,' he said gruffly.

Sam stared at the young man before leaning back. Then he saw them. Three pairs of bright, gold wings. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

'Oh, that's fine. I can help myself,' said the angel as he reached for the bag in Sam's hand.

Sam watched as the angel's right hand rummaged through the bag. He snapped out of his trance, quickly reached into his pocket, and slapped the binding cuff on the angel's wrist.

Neither human nor angel were expecting the warm sensation that flooded through them.

The angel lifted his hand to his face and examined his wrist. 'Is this what I think it is?' he questioned softly.

Sam swallowed and nodded. 'Y-yeah. Sorry,' he apologized. 'It's just...well...y'know...'

The angel sighed before sticking his hand out in greeting with a big smile plastered across his face. 'Name's Gabriel.'

'S-Sam. Sam Winchester,' Sam replied, shaking Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel cocked his head slightly. ‘Winchester… Sounds familiar. Well, Sam, how about them worms?'

Sam wordlessly handed the bag of gummy worms to Gabriel. Dean was going to kill him. 

.-.-.-.-.

Sam paced back and forth across the motel room. Gabriel lay spread across the bed, watching.

'You're gonna make me sprain an ankle, Sammy!' he whined, flitting his wings.

Sam gave him a brief glance. He caught an angel. He caught an _Archangel_! He caught what Dean was hoping to catch.

The door opened and Dean entered the room with a heavy sigh.

'Dean! I'm sorry!' The words were out before Sam could stop them.

Dean looked at Sam in surprise. 'Uh...okay. What for?'

Sam looked to the bed, and Dean followed his gaze. Gabriel sat up and waved happily.

'Is that...?'

'Yeah...'

'You...?'

'Guess so.'

Dean looked from Gabriel to Sam. 'Um... Congratulations!' He said as he clapped Sam on the back. He forced a smile, a practiced gesture on his part. He was proud of his little brother. How could he not be proud? But...

Sam gave an unsure smile. 'So...you're not mad?'

'Why would I be mad?' He wasn't mad, per se, just... Well, maybe annoyed. Irritated. If he was mad, he was mad at himself. Wrong place, wrong time. His lead on the Trickster had led him nowhere, and here was Sam, lounging about their motel room with an Archangel.

'Well, you were hoping to catch him,' Sam replied, gesturing to Gabriel. He knew his brother through and through, and he knew that despite taking it well on the surface, Dean's inner monologue must be throwing a hissy fit.

Dean frowned. 'Hey, I admit I'm jealous as hell,' and he was, 'but I'm not mad at you, Sammy. I'm proud of my baby brother!' He ruffled Sam's hair and grinned at the undignified expression Sam gave him.

Sam sighed in relief.

'Besides,' Dean continued, looking to Gabriel, 'he can help us find this Trickster.'

Gabriel let out a self-conscious cough. 'Ah...'

'Do you know where the Trickster is?' Sam asked. 'Where is it?'

Gabriel gave a nervous grin. 'Who pretends to be a Trickster and has two thumbs?' He brought up his hand and pointed his thumbs at himself. 'This guy!'

'I cannot believe you just did that,' Dean said, completely unamused. 'No one does that.'

'Wait. _You're_ the Trickster?!' Sam exclaimed.

Gabriel nodded proudly.

'Great. We've got a homicidal angel on our hands,' Dean said as he crossed his arms. He looked up at Sam. 'So, what do we do about him?'

'Let me go,' Gabriel suggested, but went ignored.

'Well, not everyone died...,' Sam replied. He didn't want to defend Gabriel, not exactly, but he didn't think Gabriel deserved to die. Gabriel hadn't killed any innocents. 'I mean, the ones that did die, they weren't exactly the nicest guys.'

Dean frowned at Sam. 'But he's still killing humans, Sam.'

'Yeah, and so do humans. Are we gonna start hunting murderers now, too?'

'What? Wait, are you _defending_ him?'

Sam shifted uncomfortably. 'Well, he must have had his reasons...,' Sam trailed off, looking to Gabriel for answers.

Gabriel quickly looked away.

'Gabriel? Why did you kill those people?' Sam asked.

Gabriel bit his tongue as he felt a clenching around his chest. 'I...I did it to protect someone. One supernatural death, and humans look at it more closely, but if there’s more, you don't. You just kill off the creature,' he bit out.

'Who were you protecting?'

Gabriel pulled his wings in tight and stared at his hands in his lap with wide eyes. 'S-someone,' he managed to grind out through the building pain. He concentrated on the drops of blood splattering on his hands.

Dean looked away from the scene before him. He'd heard of it, but he'd never actually seen an angel fight against orders or questions.

Sam took pity on the angel. 'It's all right. You don't have to answer right now.'

Gabriel sagged in relief and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

'So, now what?' Sam asked.

Gabriel looked up at Sam. 'Take credit for killing the Trickster and leave town?'

'You'll have to come with us, you know,' Dean said quietly. They couldn't just leave the angel there. Who knew what sort of the trouble he would get up to if released. He might lash out, and Dean couldn't let that happen. And if Dean was right, he would have done the same as Gabriel to protect Sam. The angel had to be protecting family.

Gabriel nodded. He hoped his brother would be able to take care of himself.

.-.-.-.-.

Gabriel slowly followed the brothers from the Impala to the house he was going to be subjected to living in. Sam had ordered him to stay close, and he would stop every few steps, trying to test how far he could be from Sam before the clenching turned to pain. They reached the house before he could get any real answer. It didn't help that Sam kept urging him on every time he stopped. Sam and Dean waited patiently for him before opening the door and entering.

Karen poked her head out of the living room. 'Welcome home, boys! Bobby will be back soon,' she said warmly. Her eyes fell on Gabriel, and she stared.

Gabriel sullenly stared back.

Karen came fully into the entryway and went straight up to Gabriel. Before he could react, she engulfed him in a tight hug. 'Oh, you poor thing!' She stopped hugging and held him at arm's length, getting a good look at him. 'Just look at you! Skin and bones. Let's get you fed,' she said as she ushered him into the kitchen and forced him to sit at the kitchen table.

She set a whole pie and a fork in front of him and stared expectantly.

Gabriel cautiously picked up the fork. He looked from the smiling angel to the pie. He _was_ hungry. And the pie _did_ smell delicious. He dug into the pie and was already half done when Sam and Dean entered the kitchen.

'Hey! Why's _he_ get pie? Where's _my_ pie?' whined Dean.

'Next to the sink, dear,' Karen sweetly replied, not taking her eyes off of Gabriel. Karen eventually shifted her gaze to Sam. 'You take good care of him,' she said in a warning tone.

Sam nodded. Karen's tone had surprised him. He had never heard her speak without her voice dripping in sugary sweetness.

Gabriel huffed, his wings puffing out. 'I can take of myself, you know! It's been me an' C—I was doing just fine on my own.'

Dean's head shot up and around a mouthful of pie asked 'You and _who_?'

Gabriel raised his chin defiantly at Dean and kept silent.

Sam was about to ask who Gabriel was going to mention when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He looked down at Karen's pleading face. She shook her head, and Sam sighed.

When Bobby returned home, he automatically assumed it was Dean who had caught the angel. He tried not to laugh at Sam's dumb luck and the irritated face Dean was making when the situation was explained to him.

As the week wore on, Dean was getting more and more irritated with Gabriel.  The Archangel would show up in the oddest places. Dean opened the fridge once in search of beer, but instead found Gabriel, drowning in one of Sam's coats. On several occasions, he was found sleeping in the bathtub on a pile of Sam's clothing.

Then Sam noticed small things going missing, turning up in strange places. He found his wallet in the back of the freezer multiple times. His clothes were being found in the glove compartments of the junkers littering Bobby's property. He had no idea where his soap ended up.

When Dean asked Karen if Gabriel's behavior was 'some sort of angel-thing,' Karen banned him from the kitchen. So he tried asking Bobby if Karen had been like Gabriel. Bobby considered the question before answering.

'Son, when you catch yerself an angel, you'll find out,' Bobby said with a small smirk.

'But what if I never catch one?' Dean asked. 'Not that it matters. I don't know if I even want one anymore.'

Bobby sighed. He felt for the kid. Three Hunters under the same roof, and only one without an angel. 'How do you mean?'

Dean collapsed into a nearby chair and slumped down. 'Sammy caught an Archangel. An _Archangel_ , Bobby. Ain't too many of them running around. He doesn't even _care_. And Gabriel's...well, _Gabriel_. I know Sam's going through hell right now dealing with that guy.'

'Look, Sam will be fine, and you'll catch yerself an angel.'

Dean rolled his eyes and slouched even further in the chair.

'How about a job? Got a nice, easy ghost hunt for you boys to take Gabriel on,' Bobby offered.

Dean nodded listlessly. 'Sure.' He didn't want to admit it, but the whole situation was making him depressed. Bobby had Karen, a High Angel, and now Sam had an Archangel. It would be fitting for him to end up with a crummy Low Angel. Maybe it would be better if he never caught one.


	2. Chapter 2

The old house was enormous. What was once a beautiful, small mansion was now an abandoned hotel. Windows were boarded up, paint was peeling, and the ceiling was slowly crumbling away. Dean pulled out his makeshift EMF detector, watching the lights pulse across the top.

Gabriel raised a brow and grinned at Dean. 'Is that...?'

Dean blushed lightly and shoved the ex-Walkman back in his pocket. 'I worked with what I had!' he said defensively.

Gabriel held his hands up in surrender. 'No, it's good! Really. I'm impressed!'

Dean looked at Gabriel doubtfully. 'Right.'

'And it's working,' Gabriel said. 'There's definitely a ghost in there.'

'Can you tell where it is?' Sam asked.

Gabriel shook his head. 'It's here...somewhere.' He bit his lip as he looked around. 'It's just...I've never done this before, y'know?'

Sam laid a hand on Gabriel's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. 'That's all right,' he said. 'We've been doing this without an angel for years.'

Dean had made his way up to the double doors and had just managed to pick the lock when Sam and Gabriel joined him inside. 'So, Bobby said you should be able to tell us where this ghost's bones are,' he said to Gabriel. And that was all Bobby had said. He had given Dean an address and that was about it. No information on the ghost. Nothing helpful.

Gabriel frowned. He had only ever used his powers to play tricks and keep hidden. Finding supernatural entities wasn't one of his primary talents. Whenever he _did_ sense another being, he quickly left the area. Running away and avoiding confrontation was more his speed. 'I just feel...something. I don't know where it is,' he admitted. 'Can't we just leave? Get some icecream? Come back when it's _daylight_?'

Dean clapped Gabriel on the back as he walked past and headed towards a hallway. 'We'll get icecream after, short stack.'

'Here,' Sam said, handing Gabriel a sucker.

Gabriel eyed the candy before snatching it away. 'A Scooby Snack. Thanks,' he said. He was aiming for sarcasm, but his voice had other plans. Plans Gabriel was perfectly fine going along with.

Sam blushed at the tone in Gabriel's voice.

A loud bang echoed throughout the hotel, and bits of the ceiling floated down. Sam and Gabriel stared at the door Dean had just walked through. Sam ran up and tried opening it as Gabriel stared with wide eyes.

'Dean! Dean, can you hear me?' Sam yelled as he banged on the door.

Two quick knocks came in response. 'I'm fine,' Dean's muffled voice replied. 'I'm gonna keep heading this way. See if you can't find another way.'

Sam nodded and gave the door one last tug. 'Right, we'll find you!'

Gabriel shied away when Sam faced him. 'It just popped up! And then it was...gone. This wasn't a good idea.'

'Don't worry,' Sam said as he walked past Gabriel. 'Just keep close, and you'll be fine.' Sam almost tripped when Gabriel latched onto his arm. 'Er...not _that_...' He trailed off when he looked down to see Gabriel's shining smile. He let out a sigh and led the way.

.-.-.-.-.

Dean cautiously opened another door. Leading with his shotgun, he made his way around the room, rummaging through drawers as he went. If Sam's angel was going to prove useless, then they had better find some information on their ghost. As he exited the room, he was pushed from behind and flattened against the wall.

He pushed off the wall and spun around, bringing his gun up to empty air. He pulled out his EMF detector. Nothing. Then, suddenly, all lights were lit, and it emitted a sharp tone just as Dean was thrown down the hallway and slammed against the wall. He stumbled as the force released him. His eyes darted back and forth, the detector giving off no readings. So much for an 'easy job.'

Not wanting to take his chances, he made his way as quickly as he could down the new hall. The sooner he met up with Sam and Gabriel, the better. If Gabriel could sense the ghost before the EMF detector could, then at least that would be some sort of edge.

.-.-.-.-.

'So _I_ said “Not in this lifetime, Smurfette,” and you know what he did?'

Sam tried another door, only to find a linen closet. He sighed and headed to the next door.

'Hey! Hey, Sam! Sammy?' Gabriel jogged to keep up. 'Are you listening?'

'Not really,' Sam admitted.

Gabriel pouted. It was a great story, and Sam didn't care. Maybe Sam was more of the fiction type. 'Okay. New story!'

Sam tried not to let his irritation show. He had found that the best way to get Gabriel to stop anything was to not show a reaction. He wondered if Gabriel had been ignored as a child. The angel thrived on attention of any sort. Attention that Sam just couldn't give until he found his brother.

'So, one day you were taking this really long shower,' Gabriel said, keeping pace just behind Sam. 'I was getting worried, so I went to see what was up. And, _boy_ , was something up! I found you stroking yourself off, and you know what you cried out when you came? Gabriel!!' He moaned his name and swooned against the wall. 'It was hot.'

Sam slowly turned to Gabriel, blushing a bright crimson. 'W-what?'

Gabriel opened his eyes and looked up at Sam. His smile fell a little at the angry look he was receiving. 'Would it make you feel better if you made one up about _me_? You can kill me off in the end,' he offered.

Sam regarded Gabriel for a moment. 'You slipped in the bathroom and drowned in the toilet. The end,' he said as he continued on his way.

'Was that before or after you fucked me against the wall?'

Sam almost missed his step and hoped Gabriel hadn't noticed. And he was _not_ still blushing.

Gabriel grinned widely at Sam's back. 'I certainly hope it was before,' he said as he caught up. 'Banging a corpse wouldn't be fun. Unless you're into that. Are you into that?'

'No,' Sam growled.

'Good,' Gabriel said as he passed Sam. He turned and flashed what he hoped was a sexy smile. 'Because I'd rather be alive for the experience.'

Before Sam could even process what Gabriel had said, he saw the angel's wings tuck in and eyes widen.

'Down.'

They ducked just as a blast of energy shot over their heads, blowing up dust and debris.

Sam looked up and down the hallway. 'Where is it?'

'I-it's gone,' Gabriel replied as he stood up, still a bit shaken. He quickly sidled up to Sam. 'Are they supposed to do that? Just pop up and vanish?'

'Ghosts usually stick around longer,' Sam said distractedly. 'Dean and I, we have to fight them off with salt rounds and iron, normally. And even that won't keep them away for long.'

'Is it me? I could leave,' Gabriel offered.

Sam shook his head, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. 'Are you able to feel humans at all?'

'I can feel you,' Gabriel said with a hinting tone. He quickly back pedaled at Sam's unamused glare. 'Er, sort of. I mean, you, yeah. But that's this thing working,' he said as he showed his binding cuff. 'Other humans...they're more...blurry. If you're asking me to find Dean-o, then... I'm guessing he's the only other human here, so...that way?' Gabriel pointed at the wall.

Sam sighed as he looked at the wall. 'Then we'll just have to do the best we can.'

'Would it help if I beeped as we got closer?'

.-.-.-.-.

Dean rounded the corner and found a narrow stairwell. He growled in frustration as he pressed his back against the wall and slowly ascended the stairs. He quickly cleared the stairwell once he reached the top and let out a relieved sigh. So far, so good. He hoped his good fortune wasn't at the cost of Sam and Gabriel. About halfway down the hall, he heard the high-pitched tone, but was still not prepared when he was thrown against the wall then to the floor.

The floor beneath him creaked ominously. He tried not to breathe as he slowly got to his hands and knees. When nothing happened, he started to crawl forward. It was then that the floor gave way.

Sam jumped back and aimed his gun at the cloud of dust.

'Beep!'

Sam's eyes flickered over to Gabriel before focusing back on the dust cloud. He heard coughing and a familiar voice cursing. 'Dean!'

'Sam?' Dean limped forward, coughing and brushing off dust and bits of plaster. 'You all right?'

Sam lowered his gun and went up to inspect Dean. 'We're fine. What about you? What happened?'

'I fell through the floor,' Dean deadpanned.

'Or the ceiling. Depending on perspective,' Gabriel added. He gave an innocent smile in response to Dean's glare. 'Duck!'

Sam pulled Dean to the floor just as the ghost flew overhead. 'Have you figured it out yet?' Sam asked.

Gabriel cautiously stood up and looked around. 'Um...we need to go down,' he replied.

'What? Figured what out?' Dean asked as Sam helped him up.

'With each pass, Gabriel's been getting little...“pings” from the ghost,' Sam explained.

'I think it's where she's buried,' Gabriel said as he looked up and down the hall. He shook his head. 'She's somewhere underneath us. That's about all I can really say.'

'Better than nothing,' Dean said as he retrieved his shotgun.

They followed the hall and eventually found a door leading them to the cellar.

Gabriel looked down the stairwell, noticing multiple missing steps. 'I'm not going down there.'

'Yes, you are,' Dean said, gripping Gabriel's shoulder.

Gabriel looked to Sam. All he got was a shrug and a sympathetic look. He sighed in resignation. With a snap of his fingers, the rickety stairs were instantly replaced with polished, marble steps. 'There. That's better.'

Dean and Sam stared in awe.

'Y-You... How...?' Sam stuttered.

'You can fix the stairs, but you can't find a ghost?' Dean said, giving Gabriel a skeptical look.

Gabriel gave a shy smile. 'Er... I specialize?'

'“Specialize”...,' Dean repeated.

'Yeah... Illusions, tricks. You need a sewer gator? I'm your guy.'

Sam frowned at the reminder of one of the deaths Gabriel was responsible for. 'How long were you going to keep this from us?' he asked.

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably. 'I wasn't planning on telling you,' he replied with some difficulty. He looked up to find two disapproving stares. He quickly looked away.

'Well, what's done is done,' Sam said. 'Let's just finish this job, and we can talk about it later.'

Gabriel nodded solemnly as he followed the brothers down the new set of stairs. Once in the cellar, he looked around. He tried to feel where the ghost was originating from, but was having no luck. He shook his head in defeat. 'We'll have to wait for another pass.'

'Great,' Dean muttered as he kicked at a loose board.

Over half an hour had passed. Gabriel was wandering aimlessly around the cellar, randomly adding gaudy curtains and questionable decorations to the walls. Sam made the mistake of asking why Gabriel added a particular set of beads to the wall, and Dean was all too enthusiastic to explain their purpose in graphic detail. Sam didn't know which embarrassed him more: the description, or the fact that his brother seemed to be speaking from personal experience.

Gabriel suddenly stopped his interior decorating, and ran to a corner of the room. 'Here! She's right here!' he exclaimed, pointing at the dirt floor.

Sam and Dean rushed to Gabriel, but were thrown in the opposite direction. When they stood up, they saw a female spirit standing between them and Gabriel. Sam brought his gun up and shot her square in the chest. With a scream, she vanished, only to reappear behind them. This time, Dean shot her.

Gabriel backed into the wall as the ghost materialized and advanced on him. He brought his hand up and hoped he knew what he was doing. He closed his eyes and snapped.

Sam ran up and carefully walked around the frozen ghost. 'Wow! That's...amazing!' he said, looking from the ghost to Gabriel.

Gabriel opened an eye to find the ghost inches from his face. 'Shit!' He jumped away and into Sam's arms.

'How long do you think she'll stay like that?' Dean asked, inspecting the ghost from every possible angle.

'No idea,' Gabriel admitted. 'Go. Do your thing. I did my part, now go do yours,' he said as he gave Sam a little push, letting his fingers linger. 'Put those big, strong arms to good use,' he said, giving Sam smirk.

As they dug up the shallow grave, they kept throwing glances to the frozen ghost, expecting her to break free at any moment. Gabriel had shuffled to the opposite corner, wanting as little to do with the ghost's demise as possible. He cringed as the ghost's essence burned away from the world.

.-.-.-.-.

When they finally returned to Bobby's house, they found a note stuck to the fridge. Bobby and Karen were out helping another Hunter, and dinner was waiting in the fridge to be reheated. Karen's neat handwriting warned of what would happen if the boys burned the house down.

Sam decided to take Gabriel up to the computer room. He wanted to run through what sort of supernatural creatures Gabriel had previously encountered, and what Gabriel could expect on future hunts. Gabriel reluctantly followed Sam upstairs, casting Dean worried glances.

Dean had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face as he waved to the angel. He didn't envy Gabriel one bit—he knew how his brother could get with research.

Dean grabbed a beer from the fridge and settled down to read a book. About halfway through his beer, the doorbell rang. He looked up, not sure if had heard correctly. No one ever visited. It rang again. He stood and slowly made his way to the door. Once he reached it, the bell rang a third time. He opened the door and cautiously peeked around it.

There, on the front porch, was a young angel. The angel was staring off to the side, distractedly pulling at the tie around his neck.

Dean mentally cataloged what he was seeing. Messy brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes, tan trench coat, slightly rumpled suit, a pair of _black_ wings, and no binding cuff. No cuff. Dean threw the door open and gave his best smile. 'Hi!'

The angel turned his stare to Dean and stopped fidgeting with his tie. 'Hello. I am looking for my brother, Gabriel,' he said.

Dean had trouble pulling his eyes away from the black wings. He'd never heard of anything darker than a pale blue-violet. 'Are those real?' he blurted out.

'I'm sorry?'

'Your wings,' Dean clarified, pointing. 'Are they naturally that color, or do you dye them?'

The angel looked over his shoulder, as if he expected to see his wings a different color. He stretched them a little. 'Yes, they are naturally this color,' he replied. He looked back to Dean. 'May I see my brother?'

'Sure, sure,' Dean stepped aside and allowed the angel to enter the house. 'Just...wait one minute.' His binding cuff was stuffed in his jacket pocket. In the other room.

The angel nodded and waited patiently while Dean hurried away. He tilted his head in question when Dean returned without Gabriel.

Dean held the cuff behind his back and thrust out his right hand. 'I should introduce myself,' he said. 'Dean Winchester.'

The angel shifted his gaze from Dean's eyes to the proffered hand. The human gesture had been explained to him once before. He had seen it performed. But…no one had ever offered to shake _his_ hand. He reached out and grasped Dean's hand. 'My name is Castiel,' he replied. He frowned when he tried to pull his hand back, but found it tightly held in place. Was he doing it wrong?

Dean's grin widened as he slapped the cuff onto Castiel's wrist. 'Yes!' he exclaimed in triumph, feeling the warmth settle over him.

Castiel looked around in confusion. Where had that warmth come from? He thought it was rather nice. He looked to the cuff on his wrist then to Dean. That must be it. They stared at each other in silence for several minutes.

Dean couldn't believe it. He was slightly in shock. An angel. A _real_ angel just appeared on his doorstep, came right inside, and was now bound to him! It didn't hurt that Castiel was pretty easy on the eyes.

'May I see my brother now?' Castiel politely asked, breaking the silence.

'Huh? Oh...uh, yeah. Sure,' Dean replied, snapping out of his musings. He led Castiel up the stairs. The door to the computer room was shut, which was odd. He brushed it off as unimportant and pushed the door open. 'Hey, Ga—!' He halted at the sight before him.

Gabriel was straddling Sam's lap, one hand buried in Sam's hair. Sam's arms were wrapped around the small angel, fingers laced through golden feathers. They both wore shocked expressions and were staring at Dean.

Castiel looked over Dean's shoulder at Gabriel.

Gabriel's shocked look quickly turned to one of anger. He pointed accusingly at Dean, just as Dean pointed at him.

'Get away from him!!' Dean and Gabriel shouted in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel jumped off Sam's lap and stomped up to Dean. His wings were fully extended, framing him. It would have been a more intimidating sight had he not been so short. 'You stay the hell away from my brother!' he yelled, jabbing Dean in the chest. He winced as a sharp pang traveled up his arm.

'Or you'll what?' Dean shot back as he pushed Gabriel away and entered the room. 'Flutter at me?' He brought his hands up and waggled his fingers.

Gabriel snapped his wings shut, but they remained puffed up. He seethed as the cuff sent reminding tingles up his arm. Oh, how he wanted to hurt Dean and save his little brother.

Dean crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. He gave Gabriel a smug grin.

Sam rolled his eyes as he stood and put himself between Dean and Gabriel. 'Look, Dean, I can make my own decisions.'

'Oh, come on, Sammy! Don't tell me you're actually _attracted_ to his short ass!' Dean scoffed. 'I mean, look at you two! You're like a circus act.'

Sam shook his head and looked at the silent angel waiting in the hallway. For Gabriel's supposed brother, the two looked nothing alike. Dark hair, blue eyes, black wings... 'Why are your wings black?' he asked. Nothing he had read or heard of had ever mentioned black wings.

Castiel stared at Sam in response. He knew next to nothing on how Hunter and angel etiquette worked, but he was pretty sure he didn't have to respond to anyone but his bound Hunter. Not even his Hunter's brother.

Sam let out an irritated sigh. He looked to Gabriel, who crossed his arms in response.

'He got it from Dad,' Gabriel said before Sam could ask. 'I take after Mom; he takes after Dad.'

'Did he have black wings, too?' Dean asked.

'No,' Castiel replied. He shifted his attention to Gabriel. 'Father wants us to return home.'

Gabriel raised a brow at his brother. He raised his right hand and pulled the sleeve of his jacket back. 'A little late for that,' he bitterly replied.

Castiel frowned as he stared at his brother's cuff. He brought his wrist up and inspected his own binding cuff. It was similar to his brother's, but there were slight differences. Both were a of dull silver and had the same spellwork carved into them, but the handwriting was different and his own seemed to have been stained by blood and grease.

'C-Cas! He—!' Gabriel stared at the cuff on his brother's wrist. 'You just couldn't resist, could you?' he asked numbly.

Dean didn't know what he should say. He was a Hunter. It was what Hunters did. Hunt monsters, catch and bind an angel. He looked to Sam for some sort of clue.

Gabriel suddenly turned to Dean. 'You can release him! You don't need him. You have me,' he said desperately. 'Hell, most Hunter families only have one angel, if any! You guys already have two. Please, you don't—' He stopped when he felt a familiar hand rest on his arm. He looked to see Castiel's intense stare focused on him. 'Castiel...'

'I'm fine,' Castiel insisted. He gave Gabriel an uncertain smile. 'I'll explain the situation to Father.'

Gabriel grimaced. 'Oh, yeah. _This'll_ go over well.'

Castiel gave a real smile. 'I'm sure he'll completely understand.'

'Right over your head.'

'I'm sorry?'

Gabriel sighed and looked from Castiel to the two Hunters. 'Cas has led a very...sheltered life,' he said. 'There's some things that need explaining. And I'm sure you two have a lot to yell about.'

'Oh. Sure,' Sam replied and looked to Dean.

Dean let out an annoyed huff. He just got his angel, only to lose him to brotherly chitchats. 'Fine. Go primp your wings or whatever.'

Gabriel quickly dragged Castiel from the room, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

'Seriously? _Gabriel_? Don't you think you could do a little better?' Dean asked. 'Maybe aim a little _higher_?'

'Oh, come off it, Dean!' Sam snapped. 'And what about...Castee...'

'Castiel.'

'What about _him_? Why are his wings _black_?!'

'You heard them, gets it from his dad's side,' Dean replied.

Sam sighed. 'Dean, I know you're excited, but...'

'So, I'm not allowed to have an angel? You can sit there and fuck _your_ angel, but I can't have one. Is that it?'

'What? No! It's just...I've never heard of black wings before.'

'So he has some sort of deformity or mutation. Maybe that's why we've never heard of it. Maybe it's like some big genetic defect angels are ashamed of. Reverse albino, or whatever. Well, _I'm_ not ashamed of him!' Dean declared as he marched out of the room.

Sam frowned. He hoped it was something as simple as a genetic mutation. Maybe it was something recent, angels being born with darker wings. He followed Dean downstairs and into the kitchen.

Gabriel and Castiel sat across from each other at the kitchen table. Gabriel looked completely frustrated, and Castiel was sporting a bewildered stare. His eyes flicked back and forth between Gabriel and Dean.

With one last look to his brother, Castiel cautiously stood and made his way to Dean. 'Um, if I am to be living here, it may be best for you to show me around.'

Dean nodded and motioned for Castiel to follow him. Just before leaving the kitchen, he threw a glare at Gabriel. 'I'm watching you,' he warned the disappeared through the doorway.

Gabriel rolled his eyes before pushing away from the table. He hopped onto the tabletop and spread his legs as he gave Sam a lewd smile. 'Now, then. Where were we?'

Sam blushed as he stammered a reply. 'Dude, no!'

'But, Sammy,' Gabriel pouted, flitting the tips of his wings.

'No. Look, just help me make dinner.'

.-.-.-.-.

As Dean showed Castiel around, he came to the conclusion that his angel had been a real shut-in. He didn't even know what a radio was. It was odd. He was clearly well-educated, had read a great deal of classic literature, and could easily name every spell and ward placed around the house. Which was more than Dean could say for Gabriel.

As Dean silently compared Gabriel and Castiel, he recalled how Gabriel had killed several humans to hide the first death. He had a sneaking suspicion Castiel was the one responsible for that first death.

'So, Cas... Have you ever killed any humans?' he asked, trying to come off as casual.

Castiel stopped in his tracks and pulled his wings in tightly. He stared up at Dean's questioning gaze. 'I-I'm sorry. It was an accident. I didn't...' He looked down, clenching his hands into fists. 'I didn't mean to kill him,' he said quickly.

Dean thought back to the first death. The man had been a middle-aged Hunter. His eyes had been burned out of his sockets. It was the only external evidence of what had happened. The autopsy had revealed that his insides had been completely burned, leaving a charred and bloody mess.

'Um, what happened?' Dean asked, mentally reminding himself that the binding cuff would protect him from anything Castiel could potentially do to him.

Castiel bit his lip in thought. 'I was alone, and... I think he was after a ghost. He found me instead...' He looked up at Dean. 'I didn't like how he felt. He felt...evil. I tried to run away, but...'

Dean lightly touched Castiel's shoulder. He nearly stumbled when the angel threw himself into Dean and clung tightly, wrapping his wings around them both.

'He grabbed me, and I could feel _everything_! All the lies, how he tortured vampires for fun, how he was in it for the money, and not to help humans,' Castiel cried. 'I just wanted the feeling gone. I wanted the evil gone... I didn't mean to _kill_ him.'

Dean nodded as he awkwardly patted Castiel on the back. Castiel had literally burned the evil out of the Hunter. A proper smiting. 'And that's when Gabriel found you?' he asked.

Castiel looked up, confused. He wiped at his eyes as he spoke. 'No. I had to find him myself. He liked to flirt with humans in the park and take their food. That's where I found him,' he explained. 'I had to show him the body. He was very angry. Not at me, though. The Hunter.'

Dean frowned. A proper smiting without breaking a sweat? Smiting even the lowest ghost could take out an angel for at least a few days. If Castiel was capable of that, then why did he let Dean bind him?

'Is something wrong?' Castiel asked, pulling away and breaking Dean from his thoughts.

'N-no, just wondering why you didn't er...why you let me bind you,' Dean replied.

'I hadn't realized at first,' Castiel admitted. 'No one had ever really explained the process to me,' he said as he fingered the cuff on his wrist. 'I imagined it would be made of iron and much larger. But this, this is nice.'

Dean beamed proudly. 'I should hope so! I made it myself.'

'It feels like you.'

'Huh?'

Castiel searched for words to describe what he felt. 'Nice...pure.'

'Right...' Dean wouldn't have described himself as such. 'Anyway, back to the tour. We only have one TV, but you'll have to fight Karen for the remote. Word of advice: Don't.'

Castiel perked up. 'TV? I like TV.'

'You like TV?' Dean asked, dumbfounded. 'Never heard of a radio, but you “like TV.”' He shook his head as they entered the living room. 'Well, there it is,' he said as he pointed to the old CRT television in the corner.

Castiel stared then looked around the room. 'Where?'

Dean walked over and patted the TV. 'Right here.'

Castiel frowned and tilted his head. 'That's not a TV.'

Dean looked down, confirming that it was, in fact, a TV. 'Yes, it is.'

'No...it's not,' Castiel insisted.

'This oughtta be good. All right, then. Enlighten me. What does a TV look like?' Dean asked as he crossed his arms, giving Castiel a patronizing look.

Castiel huffed in irritation. He wasn't stupid. 'Well, they're bigger,' he said as he stretched out his arms and wings. 'And...flatter...and not as square.'

Dean opened his mouth and quickly shut it. No. The sheltered, shut-in angel's idea of a television was a _flatcreen_? 'Well, I hate to break it to you, Cas, but we just have an old school tube TV.'

'Tube?'

'Yep.' Dean turned the power on.

Castiel frowned at the image on the screen. This was not TV. TV had stocks and cartoons. A remote was thrust into his hand. There were...very few buttons.

'And, hey! We also have a VCR!' Dean declared as he slapped Castiel on the back. He let his hand linger, then gave up on self-restraint and ran his hand along the ridge of one wing.

Castiel squeaked and almost dropped the remote. No one, other than family, had ever touched his wings before. He didn't think anyone even wanted to. The few other angels he had met always stared at his wings and did their best to avoid him. He turned to look at Dean, but found himself alone. He sighed and fiddled with the remote in his hands. A soft ringing drew his attention to his pocket. He turned off the TV and set down the remote before fishing out the cellphone. 'Hello, Father.'

He looked around the room as he listened to his father. 'Yes, I found him. But, there are...complications. … I'm afraid we have both been bound to Hunters. … I believe Gabriel feels the same way. … Sam and Dean Winchester.'

Castiel barely pulled the phone away from his ear in time to avoid permanent damage. 'I...I don't believe that would be necessary... … Not as much as Gabriel. … Y-yes, Father. I understand. … I'll go find him.'

He quickly made his way back to the kitchen. He ignored the humans in favor of shoving the phone into his brother's hand. 'Father would like to speak with you,' he said and quickly retreated to Dean's side.

Gabriel gave Castiel a pathetic look before cautiously raising the phone to his ear. He held it slightly away as he spoke. 'Dad! How's it hangin'?' He waited, looking up at the ceiling as the voice on the other end threatened to burst the phone's speaker. 'Wait, wait! _Who_?'

Sam and Dean watched with interest as Gabriel paled considerably and sent Sam a shocked look.

'I-I had no idea. … I understand. … I'll do that. … Yeah, you, too. … Bye.' Gabriel closed the phone and stared at Castiel. 'Dad's sending bodyguards,' he finally said.

Castiel frowned. 'Is that really necessary?' he asked.

'According to Dad? It's more than necessary, and he should probably be sending an army, but he'll settle for a few minions,' Gabriel replied.

'Minions?' Sam repeated.

Gabriel sighed and tossed the phone from hand to hand. 'They may as well be. Minions, worker bees, servants, whatever you want to call it.'

'What the hell kind of angel _is_ your dad?' Dean asked.

Castiel looked at the floor before meeting Dean's eyes. 'The kind that cares about his family?'


	4. Chapter 4

It was around three in the morning when Bobby and Karen got home. Bobby was completely sore and couldn't wait to take a long, relaxing shower, followed up by an ice-cold beer.

The house was dark except for a flickering light coming from the living room. Thinking the boys had fallen asleep in front of the TV again, Karen went to turn it off.

When she entered the room, she immediately recognized Gabriel's soft snores. She looked over to the couch with a fond smile. Her smile froze when she caught sight of a pair of blue eyes staring at her intently. An unknown boy sat on the couch, wrapped in a quilt, and Gabriel was using him as a pillow.

A soft glint caught Karen's attention. The boy was holding the remote control, and on his wrist was a binding cuff. Her eyes shifted back up, and she gave the young angel a warm smile.

Castiel pulled the quilt more tightly around himself. He knew the kindness would only last until she saw his wings. Humans were a little more accepting of his wings than other angels. He leaned into Gabriel as Karen approached the couch.

'Hey there, sweetie,' Karen said softly as she sat on the edge of the couch. 'I'm Karen. What's your name?'

'C-Castiel,' he replied. He really didn't like her proximity to him. She was warm, sweet, pure, smelled of cherries and vanilla, and there was an underlying streak of viciousness to her. He wanted her away from him. Or at least have Dean closer. Dean liked him _and_ his wings. Sam was polite, but Castiel could tell the younger brother was still wary.

Gabriel woke up with a loud snort. He was having such a good dream, but he was pulled out of it by Castiel's anxiety. He wrapped his arms around his brother and snuggled closer. 'I'm tryin' to sleep here, Cas,' he mumbled. 'You can have your stupid panic attack in the morning.'

'It _is_ morning,' Castiel replied, not taking his eyes off of Karen.

Gabriel growled in annoyance. 'Anything before ten is not considered “morning,”' he said.

'I'm surprised you're aware time exists before noon,' Karen commented.

Gabriel quickly straightened. So that was the problem. He gave Castiel a quick once over. No wings showing, no stray feathers. Good. He relaxed. There was still some time to prepare Castiel for Karen's reaction. He hoped his brother wouldn't end up sulking in dark corners for weeks on end like last time.

'Karen, hi!' Gabriel greeted. 'How was the hunt?'

'More work than it was worth,' Bobby replied as he entered the room. After a large yawn, he looked around the room, and his eyes fell on Castiel. He gave a big smile. 'And just where did Dean find you?'

'On the porch,' Castiel replied. His eyes flicked between Karen and Bobby. His wings shifted under the quilt. He was holding it so tightly that his wings were feeling uncomfortable and constricted.

'Hey, guys,' Gabriel cut in with a yawn. 'Can we discuss all this in the morning? Over food? Y'know? _After_ sleep?'

Karen laughed and nodded. 'Of course. I'll make waffles,' she promised.

Bobby stretched, popping a few joints. 'Right. See you two bright an' early.'

After Bobby and Karen had been gone for several minutes, Gabriel released his hold of Castiel. 'You gonna be all right?' he asked.

Castiel let the quilt pool around his hips and stretched out his wings. 'I don't think she'll like me.'

'Karen? Nah, she's nice,' Gabriel assured. 'She likes everyone.'

Castiel slouched, giving his brother a disbelieving frown. 'Her wings are so _white_ ,' he said.

'Then you should get along great. Y'know, ebony and ivory, perfect harmony, and all that crap?'

Castiel sighed and wished he could be as positive about it as Gabriel. He supposed he shouldn't worry about Karen's reaction until morning. He turned off the TV and was about get comfortable when Gabriel tugged on his wing.

'Y'know what you should do, Cas?'

.-.-.-.-.

Dean awoke to a warm weight being pressed along his side. He was reminded of his childhood. When he and Sam were much younger, Sam would often crawl into bed with him in the middle of the night. Dean looked over, half expecting to see Sam curled up next to him. Instead, he saw a shock of dark brown hair poking out from under a black wing.

He quickly blinked his sleep away and stared at Castiel's back. Every so often, a wing would twitch. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from giggling as some of the soft feathers grazed his side. Should he wake up Castiel? Don't wake him up? Would Castiel mind if Dean ran his fingers through the soft feathers?

Dean repositioned himself so that he was about six inches away from properly spooning Castiel. When there was no movement from the angel, Dean licked his lips and slowly reached for a twitching wing.

He held his breath and he lightly touched the soft, black feathers. He waited to see if Castiel would awaken. When he was certain that he was in the clear, he gently ran his fingers through the feathers. He almost jumped when the wing he was caressing stretched out. He continued to gently run his hand along the length of the wing once it settled back down.

Dean's breath caught when he heard Castiel emit a throaty moan. He tried, but he just couldn't get himself to stop petting. Every time he brought his hand down, Castiel would make a new noise. Soft moans, light gasps, and needy whines. The sounds were going straight to Dean's groin.

He couldn't stop himself from sticking his free hand down his boxers and giving his hardening member a light squeeze. He really, really shouldn't be doing this. He gripped at Castiel's wing a little harder as he held back a moan.

Castiel was having a wonderful dream. It probably had something to do with Gabriel insisting that he loom over Dean and wait for the Hunter to wake up. After about an hour, sleep had finally caught up to him. He'd had plenty of wet dreams before, but this one felt a little more real than the others. Someone was stroking his wings. Not just grooming them, but full on stroking. Fingers were running through his feathers, lightly displacing them, seeking out every last erogenous zone.

Castiel tended to be a lucid dreamer, so he imagined his unseen partner was Dean. He knew his brother would give him an earful for such thoughts, but he liked Dean. Dean was brave, good, attractive, and had beautiful green eyes. He had seen into Dean's soul and knew the attraction was mutual. So, there was nothing wrong with him dreaming about the young Hunter, right?

He had never felt a sense of lust coming from his imaginary partners before. Maybe he was getting better at lucid dreaming. He was enjoying the sensations when Dean let out a low groan. And then it hit him. It wasn't a dream. Dean really was touching him.

Castiel's eyes flew open, and he reflexively pulled his wings in tight. He stared ahead and held his breath. What should he do? What should he say? He could feel embarrassment and shame coming through the connection of the binding cuff. He didn't want Dean to feel that way. Should he excuse himself? Should he encourage Dean to continue? He felt the mattress shift and shake, and he watched as Dean ran from the room, muttering apologies.

Castiel slowly sat up and stared at the door. He wanted to ask Gabriel for advice, but he knew his brother would only answer with extremes. Either jump Dean or castrate him. And judging by his brother's earlier reaction, castration or murder were the more likely suggestions.

He sighed in frustration and gave his wings a quick flap, straightening out his feathers. He decided to wait for Dean to return to the room.

After an hour had passed, he gave up. He stood up and caught sight of himself in the mirror hanging above Dean's dresser. He was wearing only an undershirt and trousers. With a thought, he was fully dressed. He frowned at his reflection. He had never really gotten the hang of summoning freshly ironed clothes, much to his father's dismay. He wondered if he should make the effort of physically ironing his clothes. Would Dean appreciate it?

He pulled at his sleeves self-consciously while taking a final glance at the mirror. He sighed and headed downstairs.

He heard Gabriel's loud laughter coming from the kitchen. He slowly poked his head around the corner. Everyone but Karen sat around the table, and there were two empty seats. He chewed on his lip as he watched the others interact. Dean was acting as if nothing had happened, and he appeared to be wearing clothes that were a touch too big for him. And Gabriel was sitting awfully close to Sam.

'Oh!'

Castiel's attention was pulled to Karen.

She smiled at him and raised the large plate of waffles she was holding. 'Why don't you join us, Castiel?'

He shifted his attention from Karen to the table. All eyes were focused on him, and he shied away.

'C'mon, Cas,' Dean coaxed. 'Karen makes the best waffles.'

Castiel looked at the floor and took a deep breath. Without looking up, he fully entered the kitchen. He flinched at the shattering crash that came from Karen's direction.

'W-what's wrong with your wings?!' Karen exclaimed.

The chair screeched loudly against the floor as Dean stood up. ' _Nothing's_ wrong with his wings,' he said as he went and stood next to Castiel. He wrapped an arm around Castiel's shoulders and pulled him close.

Castiel gasped at the contact and looked up at Dean's face. There was such a strong sense of possessiveness and a need to protect coming from Dean. Right then, he felt like he could deal with anything.

'It's genetic,' Gabriel added.

'Then why ain't _your_ wings black?' Bobby asked.

'I take after our mom. Which is why I'm way hotter,' Gabriel replied, proudly flexing his wings. 'Wouldn't you agree, Sammy?'

Sam ignored Gabriel in favor of pouring syrup on his waffles. His morning had been...interesting. And as much as his body wanted the rest of the day to be interesting, he didn't think his mind could handle much more.

Karen's eyes never left Castiel's wings. It was impolite to stare, but she just couldn't help herself. Surely, she would have heard of something like this happening. Someone somewhere would have seen something. And there was something else about the boy that just wasn't...right. Not wrong, but certainly not how a normal angel should feel. She had met plenty of angels whose parents were not both angel, but that wasn't it.

'C'mon, Cas. We'll just go to IHOP or something,' Dean said, pulling Karen from her thoughts.

She finally broke her gaze from the black wings and looked to Bobby for his opinion on the matter.

Bobby and Karen had been bound to each other for many years. He had found her when he was eighteen. At a movie theater of all places. The white shawl she wore that night fooled the other patrons, but not Bobby.

He didn't have to fake the nervousness of a young man approaching a pretty girl. He even fumbled and dropped his binding cuff. He could only stare in dismay at the thin, silver cuff that lay on the ground. He was completely red-faced and shocked when the pretty blond angel picked up the cuff and handed it to him with a friendly smile, asking if he'd like another go. The week that followed was absolute hell.

Through the years, Bobby began noticing emotions that weren't his own. Small at first, but with each passing year, they became stronger and more distinct. He then realized the cuff's connection was giving him a small glimpse into Karen's thoughts.

And it was at that moment in the kitchen that Bobby was hit with an intense questioning worry coming from Karen. He looked at Dean and Castiel. Dean looked determined and completely at ease around Castiel, and the angel looked comfortable in Dean's hold, even happy....if he had to put an emotion to Castiel's near-blank stare. Everything Gabriel had mentioned painted Castiel as being calm, intelligent, and naïve. He couldn't think of a more perfect match for Dean. Hell, the damn angel even came with a black paint job.

'Don't be a drama queen, boy,' Bobby said. 'You two come an' sit down. And you,' Bobby pointed his fork at Castiel, 'don't burn the house down or do anything you can't fix.'

Castiel blinked in confusion. He looked up at Dean for an answer, but was just met by a smug grin. So he looked to Gabriel and finally received a response.

'I'll explain everything later,' he heard Gabriel's voice softly echo through his mind. He allowed himself to be guided to the table and gently pushed into a chair. A large waffle was set before him. It had a smiley face made of whipped cream, bacon, and a large strawberry for a nose. Whipped cream was a breakfast item?

'Just eat the damned thing, Castiel!' Gabriel shouted in annoyance.

'But...'

'Dad's not here to “disapprove,”' Gabriel said as he shoveled what looked to be mostly syrup into his mouth.

Castiel sighed and nodded. Unlike his brother, he didn't live on sugar.

'So, Cas,' Bobby said, 'do you think you'd be any good on a hunt?'

Castiel looked up from his happy waffle. 'In what capacity?'

Gabriel huffed. 'He'll do fine,' he grudgingly admitted.

'Better than you did?' Sam teased.

'I'm a lover, baby, not a fighter.'

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean glared at Gabriel. 'What's the job?' Sam asked.

'Wendigo. One stated over,' Bobby replied. 'Should be a cake walk with two angels.'

Gabriel dropped his head on the table, narrowly avoiding his plate.

'You boys leave tomorrow.'

'But...I don't like wendigoes,' Castiel said.

Dean gripped Castiel's shoulder, making sure to 'accidentally' brush against the wing. 'Don't worry, I'll protect you.'

'Oh, I'm not worried,' Castiel replied and maneuvered his wing so that it rested against Dean's hand. 'And I'll be certain to protect _you_.'


	5. Chapter 5

'Dammit, Cas! It's tradition,' Gabriel insisted.

Castiel stared at his reflection in the dirty mirror. The group had stopped at a small truck stop on their way to the hunt. Half the car ride so far had been spent on the Winchesters' new favorite topic: arguing about Castiel's wings. Sam insisted Castiel should hide them and keep a low profile, and Dean just brushed off Sam's opinions. Gabriel had been commanded into silence by an irritated Sam, and Castiel would have preferred to have spent the ride in the trunk.

Castiel flexed his wings and sighed. He had already drawn so much attention. At least there were no other angels at the truck stop.

Gabriel groaned in annoyance. 'Stop moping. You're giving me a headache,' he complained.

Castiel pulled his gaze from his reflection and directed it at his brother. 'I just don't understand _why_ I have to do it,' he said.

'Do what?' Gabriel asked in confusion, then quickly remembered. 'Oh, so you _were_ listening! Good. Anyway, it's tradition.'

Castiel gave Gabriel a doubtful look. 'Traditions can change.'

'Okay, bad explanation. The truth of it is, you need to test the bond.'

'But—'

'No! You need to test it. Act out, force him to snap at you. If it's meant to be, if he _deserves_ you, then the cuff will stay in place,' Gabriel explained.

'And if not?'

'Then it...snaps or breaks...or something. Anyway, you're free.'

Castiel looked at the cuff on his wrist. He liked Dean. What if...it really wasn't meant to be? The cuff hadn't broken yet, so he hoped he was already in the clear. 'Are there any other signs?' he asked.

'“Signs,”' Gabriel echoed in an incredulous tone. 'Well, Miss Cleo, if you can lie when he asks you a question, that's a good sign. Ignoring orders... Just...stuff you shouldn't be able to get away with.'

Castiel looked back at his brother. 'I don't think—'

'Of course you don't!' Gabriel interrupted. 'That's why I'm here.'

Castiel hugged himself and looked around the restroom uncertainly. He was different. This 'tradition' probably didn't apply to him like it did his brother. He was surprised the cuff even had any effect on him at all. 'I don't really _want_ to, though.'

Gabriel sighed. He moved so that he stood in front of Castiel. 'Look,' he said, placing his hands on Castiel's shoulders. 'Mom was s'posed to give you “the talk,” not me...'

'Father spoke to me about it...a little,' Castiel said.

Gabriel laughed. 'Yeah, I remember hearing shouting through the door. Didn't he threaten to wring your scrawny little neck if you ever got cuffed?' he asked with a smirk.

Castiel gave a small smile in return. 'That was about all he said on the subject,' he replied. 'I...like hearing it from you, though.'

Gabriel pulled Castiel into a hug. 'You'll figure out your own ways to test the bond. If you want any suggestions, just ask.'

Castiel hugged back. 'I'll do my best,' he promised.

'Great! Now, let's go eat. I'm starved.'

The pair of angels quickly joined Dean and Sam at one of the booths. As Castiel slid in next to Dean, he noticed that he wasn't receiving stares anymore. He looked curiously over to Dean.

Dean leaned over and spoke quietly into Castiel's ear. 'I told them you're going through a goth phase and dyed your wings.'

Castiel stared at the paper placemat in front on him. Dean didn't have to do that. Castiel was accustomed to receiving stares. As long as no one made a big deal about it, he was just fine pretending that he wasn't bothered. It was usually other angels that fretted over his wings, anyway. 'Thank you,' he said.

'I also ordered for you,' Dean said as he went back to looking at the map between him and Sam.

'Hey, what's that?' Gabriel asked, jabbing at a symbol on the map.

'Campground,' Sam replied distractedly, brushing Gabriel's hand away. He tried to ignore how Gabriel's fingers managed to become tangled with his.

'Why is it circled?' Castiel asked.

'Because that's where the latest attack was,' Dean replied.

'Please don't tell me we're going camping,' Gabriel said with distaste. 'I'm much too fragile for that.'

'Well, if we get in, kill it, and get out, then there won't be any camping,' Dean said. 'So, there's your incentive to do a good job.'

' _I_ like camping,' Castiel chimed in.

'No,' Gabriel said with a careful tone, ' _you_ like camping out on the couch. _Camping_ is what we were doing when we ran away.'

Castiel's eyes widened, and he looked to Dean pleadingly. 'I _don't_ like camping. Can we not camp?'

Dean snorted and rolled his eyes. 'We're staying at a motel.'

'Motel?'

'Upscale camping,' Gabriel offered helpfully.

Dean cut in before Castiel could argue. 'More like a low end hotel,' he told Castiel. 'Beds, bathroom, TV. The essentials.' He patted Castiel's back when he noticed the angel still looked miserable. 'It'll be fine.'

Castiel wanted to ask more, having never stayed at a hotel either, but the waitress had arrived with their food.

Dean loved their waitress. She was everything he thought a truck stop waitress should be: round, rosey-cheeked, slightly graying hair, and flirty. She was perfect. Even though the meal was being comped, he was going to leave her a great tip.

'House salad for tall and gorgeous,' she said with a wink as she began setting down plates. 'French toast for Goldy, and bacon cheeseburgers for pretty green eyes and Little Blackie. You boys enjoy and holler if you need anythin'.'

'Sammy-boy! You remembered!' Gabriel exclaimed. ' _Someone's_ gettin' powdered-sugar-kisses tonight.'

Dean threw Gabriel a glare as he bit into his burger.

Castiel stared at his plate. 'Little...Blackie?' he eventually asked.

'I'll loan you the book,' Sam replied before digging into his salad.

'There's a book?' both Dean and Gabriel asked.

'I dunno if I could read that. I mean, it just wouldn't be right without John Wayne,' said Gabriel.

Sam chose to keep his mouth shut. Especially when a certain angel's leg draped itself across his lap.

Castiel sighed, partly from his inability to be in a conversation, much less control it, and partly from the food on his plate. The last time he had eaten anything resembling a burger, Gabriel had managed to burn down half the kitchen. And the burger had tasted awful. He picked up the cheeseburger anyway, not wanting to be impolite, and took a small bite.

It was wonderful.

For the first time since the Kitchen Masacre of '95, he understood why his brother had wanted him to try the unhealthy dish. In no time at all, he had scarfed down the entire cheeseburger and started on the fries. They weren't nearly as good.

Dean looked over just in time to see his angel polish off the cheeseburger. 'I'd say “slow down,” but I guess it's too late for that,' he said.

'It was delicious!' Castiel declared through a mouth full of french fries. He quickly looked down and swallowed, blushing brightly. 'S-sorry,' he said quietly.

Dean reached over and ruffled Castiel's hair. 'Nothin' to be sorry about,' he said with a big grin. He moved his hand lower and gave Castiel's wings a light scratch.

Castiel blushed deeper and jumped at the sound of cutlery slamming into a plate. He glanced up and saw his brother glaring at Dean, fork stabbed into the small pile of french toast.

'Knock it off,' Gabriel growled.

Dean switched to stroking the wings, giving Gabriel a shit eating grin in response. He paused when he felt a hand tightly grip his thigh. He looked at Castiel curiously.

'He's right, Dean,' Castiel whispered. 'This is inappropriate behavior.'

Dean reluctantly pulled his hand away. He rolled his eyes at Gabriel's smug smile. 'Fine,' he said. 'You wanna know what else is inappropriate behavior? Forgetting I can _hear you two_ at three in the morning.'

'No, _that's_ called being inconsiderate,' Gabriel replied.

Sam blushed and ducked his head. 'You could have said something,' he mumbled. 'Banged on the wall...'

'I believe neither of us wished to bring you discomfort,' Castiel replied.

Dean nodded in agreement. His head snapped to Castiel as realization hit him. 'How did _you_ hear?'

'Um... I was...watching you sleep,' Castiel said.

'Huh... Okay then. Weird, but...okay,' Dean said with a shrug.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel looked around the motel room in dismay. It may not have been as bad as Gabriel's description of typical motel fair, but it was pretty close. And it smelled weird, too.

Dean threw their bags on the beds. 'Alright, me an' Sam'll take this one, and you two'll take that one,' he said as he pointed.

'Aw, but _I_ wanna sleep with Sam,' Gabriel whined at Dean's back.

Dean slowly turned to face Gabriel with a smirk. 'Do you _really_ wanna trade?' he asked as he let his gaze fall on Castiel.

Gabriel's mouth snapped shut, and he looked from Dean to Castiel. 'Er...well...' He let out a frustrated noise and kicked at the carpeting. 'No...,' he grudgingly admitted.

'Dean, stop being a jerk,' Sam said as he brought in the rest of the bags.

'I was just givin' him a choice,' Dean innocently replied.

Castiel silently went around the room, opening drawers and investigating every corner. Maybe if he familiarized himself with the room, it wouldn't be so bad. He made it to one of the nightstands and slid open the top drawer. It was full of condoms. He couldn't bring himself to look away.

Gabriel sidled up and looked over Castiel's shoulder. 'Uh...is this normal?' he asked, reaching in and pulling out a handful of condoms.

Sam and Dean looked at each other. _They_ knew what sort of motel they were staying in—the kind that catered to Hunters and the hourly crowd—but how could they explain it to the two angels without giving the wrong impression?

'It's the closest motel to the job,' Dean eventually replied.

Gabriel gave Dean a doubtful stare before he stuffed the handful of condoms into his coat pocket. 'I'm onto you.'

'Why do they need flavoring?' Castiel asked, holding up a brightly colored packet.

'Because,' Gabriel replied, yanking the condom out of Castiel's hand. He tossed it back into the drawer and slammed the drawer shut.

Castiel stared expectantly at his brother. When it dawned on him that Gabriel had nothing else to say on the matter, he turned his gaze to Dean. 'Dean?'

'Blowjobs,' Dean automatically replied. He elaborated after Gabriel's indignant squawk. 'Y'see, Cas, some girls—or guys—just don't like the taste of cum, so they'll give blowjobs with a condom. Normal condoms don't taste or smell too good, so...flavored condoms.'

'Oh. Yes, that makes perfect sense,' Castiel said, nodding. He paused for a moment and thought back to a piece of advice he had received a while ago. 'What do _you_ prefer?'

'Well—,' Dean stopped himself short. He eyed Castiel uncertainly, but his angel looked to be completely serious. He'd had some forward lovers in the past, but not one of them had ever managed to come off as innocent and sincere. 'Right now, I prefer pizza.'

Castiel looked to Gabriel and silently asked, 'Am I doing something wrong?'

Gabriel gripped Castiel's shoulder reassuringly. 'For _my_ sanity, baby brother... Please switch tactics,' was his mental reply. Aloud, he said, 'We're getting those cinnamon frosting things, right?'

Castiel frowned. He had a feeling that he and Gabriel were not talking about the same thing, but he figured he would worry about it later.

.-.-.-.-.

Sam was the first to wake up. As he trudged slowly towards the bathroom, he happened to glance over at the other bed. In the early morning light, he could just make out a tangle of sheets, limbs, and wings. He already knew Gabriel was a sprawler, having woken up enough times with the angel's arms and legs draped across his body, and, from the looks of it, Castiel was a cuddler. Gabriel's limbs lay on top of Castiel, and Castiel had somehow wrapped himself around the smaller angel.

It was adorable. Sam couldn't resist. He quietly opened his duffel and pulled out his camera. Making sure the flash was off, he took a few pictures. Satisfied, he tucked the camera back into his bag and began his morning regiment.

Gabriel slowly opened his eyes at the sounds coming from the bathroom. He lifted his head and looked to the other bed. He saw Dean blissfully asleep and tightly clutching a pillow. Through his sleep-addled mind, Gabriel took stock. Cas was wrapped around him, and Dean was on the other bed. Someone was missing. Someone was starting the shower. Sam! _Sam_ was taking a shower!

Gabriel shot up and flailed his way out of bed.

Castiel was jarred awake, mostly from the knee on his wing. When his eyes finally focused, he was treated to his brother's naked backside disappearing into the bathroom. He heard a high pitched yelp, followed by hushed tones.

He sighed and looked over at Dean, who was still asleep. He wondered if he should wake the Hunter. He settled on pulling out his phone and sending a text. As he waited for a reply, he watched Dean sleep.

.-.-.-.-.

Dean was not in the mood. He had woken up to his brother and Gabriel exiting the bathroom together. He may have let it slide if the pair hadn't used all of the hot water. After his shortened shower, Castiel had greeted him with a great cup of coffee. It would have been perfect, but Castiel seemed to have gotten it in his head that he needed to be a cocktease.

'Wow! Thanks, Cas,' Dean said, taking the steaming mug from Castiel. He took a sip. It had the perfect amount of cream and sugar.

'It may not be exactly to your liking,' Castiel said. 'There was no creamer, so I had to improvise with a substitute.'

'It tastes fine. What'd you use for a sub?'

'My cum,' Castiel replied with a straight face.

The mug was resting against Dean's lips. He couldn't wrap his mind around what Castiel had just said. 'W-what...?'

'I thought of you.'

Dean looked at the contents of the mug. It had to be a lie. But... He looked over at Sam and Gabriel.

Sam stared back, slack-jawed. Gabriel looked torn between outrage and laughter.

Dean coughed as he shifted his gaze back to Castiel. Whatever was going on, he was determined to turn it back in his favor. 'In that case,' he said with a grin, 'you can sweeten my coffee any day.' He downed the rest of the coffee and handed the mug back to Castiel and was rewarded with a sweet, but slightly confused smile.

It didn't stop there. Castiel kept making slightly sexual comments, but it seemed like he didn't quite understand just what he was saying. It was driving Dean insane.

When they reached the forest, the rest of the morning had been spent listening to Gabriel gripe about insects and sticks. Castiel was being quiet and not respecting Dean's personal space, but shying away every time the Hunter tried to touch him, leaving Dean utterly confused. And Sam...Sam was being Sam.

And, just to top everything off, apparently neither angel was any good at locating the wendigo.

'Well, we've only ever read about them, and there's lots of dead things here,' Gabriel argued. 'You're asking us to find a needle in a haystack! And we've never even _seen_ a needle.'

'Y—'

'Figure of speech, Castiel!' Gabriel snapped. He didn't know what to do about his brother. His sweet, innocent, naïve, sheltered baby brother. His brother who could deliver off the wall lines with a strange, practiced ease. Gabriel knew for certain that Castiel hadn't learned any of it from him. And their father was careful about who they interacted with—especially Castiel. So where... And then he finally realized who corrupted his baby brother.

Gabriel rounded on Castiel. 'Gimme your phone,' he demanded.

Castiel sighed and handed his phone over. He watched helplessly as Gabriel sifted through the various texts. Maybe he should start deleting them... He flinched when Gabriel's wings flapped out aggressively.

'What's going on? What's wrong?' Sam asked.

Gabriel growled in frustration as he jabbed at the phone's buttons. 'Cas has been getting advice from questionable sources,' he explained.

'Advice?' Dean asked.

Gabriel gave a laugh as he turned to Dean. 'Did you really think _Cas_ came up with cumshot coffee cream? Cas, whose idea of a good time is a Scooby-Doo marathon while doing taxes?'

Castiel looked down and shuffled his feet. He was well aware that he was on the boring side. It was why he'd asked for advice in the first place. Gabriel seemed to think he was testing the cuff's bond. He didn't really want Gabriel to know the truth, but it was too late now.

'What the fuck, man?!' Gabriel shouted. 'Did you ask _everyone_?'

'All, but you and Father,' Castiel admitted quietly. 'I had a feeling you wouldn't approve...'

'No, shit!'

'Is this about uh...' Sam trailed off, waving his hand in the air.

Gabriel sighed and showed Sam one of Castiel's texts. 'Worse.'

Sam read the text and couldn't keep the smile off his face.

_B, How does one go about flirting? -C_

Castiel turned bright red at the laughter coming from Sam.

'What's so funny?' Dean asked.

Gabriel tossed the phone to Dean. He smirked at Castiel's bowed head. He had never seen anyone blush so hard.

'Fishsticks? What's so funny about—' Dean pointed accusingly at Gabriel. 'You changed the message!'

Castiel's head shot up in time to see his brother give Dean a shrug. He quickly made his way to Dean and pulled his phone from the unresisting hand. 'Please don't ask about it,' he mumbled.

Dean crossed his arms. He hadn't been tempted to abuse his power over the bond yet, not until that moment. The text had to be about him. 'Will you tell me later?' he asked.

Castiel nodded. Later was safe. Later could be years. He looked at his phone. All of the old texts had been deleted. It was just as well. He was about to put it away when the screen flashed with a new message.

_C, Be yourself. -G PS – If he breaks your heart, I'll kill him and bury the body on Mars._

Castiel shoved the phone in his pocket. He sent a silent 'thank you' to Gabriel.

'Right. Whatever,' Dean said dismissively. 'Let's split up and cover more ground. Just go after _anything_ you might think is the wendigo. We'll meet back up in about three hours.'

Sam nodded and hefted his bag to his other shoulder. 'Right. You two be careful,' he said. He looked to Gabriel. 'Well?'

Gabriel sighed. He picked a random direction and led the way. 'For the record, I don't like this plan.'

Dean watched the pair as they disappeared deeper into the forest. He turned his attention to Castiel and stared expectantly.

Castiel sighed and reached out with his senses. There were so many different creatures in the forest, both natural and supernatural. He shook his head.

Dean looked to the sky in frustration. Angels were supposed to _help_ on hunts. _Karen_ was awesome on hunts. She was great at tracking, and she could hold her own in a fight. Why were Gabriel and Castiel so...useless? Sure, Gabriel was powerful, but he used his gifts for goofing off. And Castiel was definitely educated on everything you needed to know for hunting, but, apparently, the angel had absolutely no real world experience.

'I feel something in that direction,' Castiel said as he pointed.

Maybe they weren't so useless after all. 'Great!'

Dean and Castiel found an abandoned campsite. Claw marks, blood, and signs of dragged bodies. A search of the tents revealed that the campers had been Hunters.

'Poor bastards,' Dean mumbled as he tossed an empty box of ammo aside. He heard his name called and turned to face Castiel.

'I...I think it headed north,' Castiel said.

'Why?'

Castiel looked away in embarrassment. 'Because I really don't wanna go north.'

Dean led the way, and he began spotting more and more evidence of a wendigo's presence.

After a short hike, they found themselves standing at the entrance of a partially hidden cave. Dean readied his flare gun and stepped forward.

Castiel grabbed at Dean's sleeve and tugged him back. 'We shouldn't go alone,' he insisted.

Dean gave a wink before shrugging Castiel off. 'We'll be fine.'

.-.-.-.-.

They were not fine.

Dean was bloodied and bruised and huddled against a stalagmite, trying to control his breathing. He had no idea where Castiel was. The cave ended up being a lot deeper than Dean was expecting. There were smaller tunnels that branched off and led to who knows where.

They had gotten separated early on. The system of caves had been playing hell on Castiel's senses, so they had very little warning when the wendigo jumped them.

The wendigo hadn't been expecting one of its prey to puff out a pair of wings, appearing much larger than originally thought. Castiel shouted for Dean to run. Dean didn't think twice.

He banged his head against the stalagmite. He should have grabbed Castiel. He should have attacked the wendigo. He should not have dropped his weapon. All he had on him was his stupid flashlight. He glared at the darkness, contemplating whether or not he should try looking for Castiel.

His decision was made for him when he heard the soft growling of the wendigo. He tightened his grip on the flashlight. Maybe he could blind it then bash its head in. He carefully repositioned himself so that he would be able to bolt past. He aimed his flashlight in what he hoped was the right direction. He let out a breath and flicked the light on.

The wendigo was a lot closer than he was expecting. And getting much closer very fast.

Dean's vision went black, and that was it. It was the end. It had been a good run. Short, but...good. Good enough. Who was he kidding? His life sucked.

The anguished scream drew his attention back to the present. A soft glow silhouetted a pair of wings.

'C-Cas?!'

Castiel looked over his shoulder at Dean. He stepped aside, revealing the dying wendigo.

Dean watched, fascinated, as the monster burned from the inside, out. It scrabbled against the ground and clawed at its own skin, screaming at a high pitch. When the inner light faded, all that was left was a twisted and blackened corpse.

Dean stared at Castiel. 'Um...good job?'

Castiel refused to look at Dean. He could feel the fear and apprehension wafting from the human. He fidgeted with the cuff on his wrist.

.-.-.-.-.

Sam ran after Gabriel. From the angel's expletives and shouts, he gathered that Dean and Castiel were in trouble. He was surprised at how swift and agile Gabriel actually was. He was having trouble keeping up. He refrained from asking Gabriel to slow down, knowing it would only make the angel even more frantic.

Sam lost sight of Gabriel several times and was thankful when they reached their destination. He slowed to a jog as he neared Gabriel. When he stopped, he took in the sight before him.

Dean stood in front of the mouth of a cave, looking inside. Eventually, Castiel appeared and immediately shied away from Dean.

'Cas, are you okay?' Gabriel called out.

Castiel looked up. When he caught sight of Sam, he quickly looked back down.

'Wendigo's dead,' Dean said. He wanted to reassure Castiel that everything was okay, but the angel had managed to avoid any form of physical or verbal comfort. Dean had to be honest with himself, he was completely freaked out. He'd never seen that kind of power. He wanted to know how well Castiel could control it, but was too afraid to ask. What would set Castiel off? How safe were Sam and Bobby? If it came down to it, would the binding cuff prevent Castiel from hurting Dean? There was already _one_ accidental human death under Castiel's belt, and that was what Dean _knew_ of. Were there others? Just how many times had Castiel smote something or someone?

Dean watched as Castiel scurried over to Gabriel's side. He could tell there was some sort of silent conversation going on with the way Gabriel's eyes kept flicking between him and Castiel.

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. 'We should get going before it gets too dark,' he said as he walked past Sam.

Sam kept pace with Dean and, in a hushed tone, asked, 'Was it that bad? It couldn't have been worse than Gabriel's first hunt, right?'

Dean contemplated what he should tell Sam. His own reaction was taking its toll on Castiel—he didn't want to add Sam's inevitable freak out to the mix just yet. 'We got separated in there,' Dean replied. 'The wendigo was about to get me, and Cas showed up just in time to save my ass. He did good.'

'Then what's wrong?' Sam pressed, but his question went ignored. He decided it probably had something to do with Castiel's previous attempts at flirting. Dean must have said or done something to scare Castiel off. Sam hoped they would figure out their problems soon. A bound Hunter and angel that didn't get on would only lead to disaster.


	6. Chapter 6

Gabriel sat on the edge of the motel bed, staring listlessly at the bathroom door. Castiel had locked himself in the bathroom well over an hour ago under the pretense of grooming his wings. Gabriel wished there was something he could do to help his brother, but there was nothing. He couldn’t block Dean’s emotions from Castiel, and he had no way of preventing Dean from having them.

After Sam and Dean had left to get dinner, Gabriel had tried to coax Castiel out of the bathroom, but Castiel drowned his voice out with the shower. Castiel had shut him out physically and mentally. The last time Castiel had locked himself away like that, their mother had just died. He had holed up in his room for several days and hadn’t spoken for months. Gabriel hoped this bout of depression wouldn’t last anywhere near as long.

Gabriel jumped when the front door opened and Sam and Dean entered. He shook his head at Sam’s questioning glance.

‘Is he taking a shower?’ Dean asked.

Gabriel shrugged. ‘He’s alive. That’s all I can tell.’

Dean let out an irritated grunt. He wanted to be patient and wait for Castiel to make the first move to talk. Really, he did. But he wasn’t exactly known for his patience. He was worried about the angel. He was also worried about Sam’s safety. He desperately wanted Castiel to put his mind at ease. Castiel may have felt like he had all the time in the world to deal with his angst, but Dean didn’t. He had already given Castiel several hours of awkward silence and over an hour of alone time with Gabriel. It was more than he usually gave everyone else. Sam had pointed out as much, saying how he was impressed with Dean’s generosity and patience. But he had just reached the end of it.

He shoved the food he was carrying at Gabriel and marched up to the bathroom door. He tried the handle, only to find it locked.

‘Dean…’ Sam winced as Dean banged loudly on the door. He looked helplessly at Gabriel for support, but found none. Gabriel just watched, unimpressed by Dean’s display.

‘Cas! We need to talk!’ Dean shouted. After a moment of silence, he banged on the door again. ‘Dammit, Castiel! You let me in this instant!’

When there was no response, Dean figured he would have to break the door down. And then he realized what he had just said. His stomach tightened at the possibilities. Either Castiel was unconscious or…

The lock gave a soft click.

Without looking back, Dean quickly entered the bathroom. The door shut behind him and locked. He found Castiel huddled between the toilet and the bathtub, hugging his knees to his chest and refusing to look up.

Dean was never very good at beating around the bush or being subtle. He had tried that tactic earlier in the cave, and just look where it got him. He should have just confronted Castiel right at the beginning like he had wanted to. But the angel had looked so fragile; Dean didn’t want to hurt him. He was over that thought process now. He figured that Castiel had to have some sort of a thick skin if he had Gabriel for a brother. So, he just cut right to the chase.

‘How in control are you?’ he asked.

Castiel hugged his knees tighter. He wondered if he should have kept the door locked. Kept Dean out. He almost didn’t catch the question, but he had felt a slight urging from the cuff. Dean had kept the orders and questions to a minimum so far, and Castiel was beginning to wonder if he would ever feel the pull that Gabriel had described to him. ‘I…I don’t quite understand what you mean,’ he quietly replied.

Dean barely caught the reply over the sound of the shower. ‘I mean: Are you gonna accidentally off me and Sam? You said you accidentally killed that one Hunter… Are there more?’

Castiel shook his head.

Dean sighed and crossed his arms. ‘Well? Can you control your power or not?’

Castiel shrugged and buried his face in his knees, his shoulders shaking. He _thought_ he was in control of his power. Sure, the occasional light bulb suffered from emotional outbursts, but nothing like the Hunter. There had been other accidents, but nothing human. Nothing that counted. With Dean in the room, he could feel everything the young Hunter felt. All the fear, concern, worry, annoyance, hate, love, everything. He just couldn’t tell at who or what they were directed. His mind naturally went to darker places, imagining every dark emotion being meant just for him.

Dean growled in frustration. He sat on the floor in front of Castiel and stared at the angel, wondering what he should do. Castiel looked so broken. It was depressing to see, and he knew he was the cause of it. And he just seemed to be making it worse.

‘You are one pathetic-looking, scary-ass, little angel,’ he muttered.

Castiel’s head shot up, making Dean jump. He stared at Dean in shock. He hadn’t been expecting the Hunter to just come right out and say it. It made him feel… a little better. It had clarified the emotion he felt coming from Dean, and he could see just what Dean was afraid of. ‘You’re…afraid of me,’ he stated, almost daring Dean to deny it.

‘No shit!’ Dean snapped. ‘How many angels do you know that can smite something and prance around like nothin’ happened?’

Castiel looked confused. ‘I…I don’t understand… I wasn’t…“prancing around.” And I don’t know of any other angels that would do so after—no, I’m wrong. Gabriel would certainly prance about in celebration.’

Dean’s mouth snapped shut. A nervous giggle escaped, and he scratched at the back of his neck. ‘No, I mean… You’re…fine. It’s like you didn’t use any energy to smite it. That’s…that’s not…normal.’

Castiel looked down. ‘I’m sorry.’

Dean sighed and placed a hand on Castiel’s arm. ‘Look, it’s not your fault. I’m not mad at you—‘

‘Yes, you are,’ Castiel cut in. He knew Dean was mad at him. Anger, annoyance, irritation…it flared up as he spoke.

Dean’s eye twitched. ‘I’m mad at you for acting like this and shutting me out. Not for having freaky-ass powers,’ he retorted.

The emotions slotted into place for Castiel. He would have spoken to Dean earlier had he known everything would have been this simple. All the knots were slowly unraveling, and he could begin to trace where some of Dean’s stronger feelings lead—a great bit of annoyance was set aside just for Gabriel, and there was a strong love for Sam.

‘I just…I need to know, Cas,’ Dean said and lightly squeezed Castiel’s arm. ‘I need to know if Sam’s gonna be safe around you.’

Castiel stared at Dean’s hand. ‘I would never hurt your family.’

‘Maybe not on purpose, but… What if Sam went crazy or got possessed by a demon or something? And then he went after you. Would you freak out and smite him?’

‘I highly doubt Sam would “go crazy,” and he needn’t worry about being possessed,’ Castiel reasoned. ‘Gabriel told me about the tattoo.’

‘Oh, I’m sure he did,’ Dean grumbled. ‘It’s just a hypothetical question. For whatever reason, me, Sam, Bobby, whoever, corners you and does something to spook you. What do you do?’

Castiel tried to imagine the scenario. It was difficult, but Dean was right. He was a potential threat. If he had a plan for future incidents, then maybe he could avoid having another accident. ‘I could put you to sleep,’ he suggested and looked hopefully at Dean.

Dean frowned at Castiel. ‘You can do that?’

Castiel nodded.

‘Then why didn’t you—‘

‘I didn’t think to put the Hunter to sleep. I couldn’t focus with all the hatred and lies he radiated. But you…you don’t feel like that. He was the only human I’ve felt with such evil thoughts,’ Castiel quickly replied.

Dean sighed and leaned back. ‘Okay… So you’re saying it’s not likely to happen unless some major prick grabs you.’

‘If he or she takes pleasure in causing others pain, then…yes. I believe that would be an accurate assumption. I…I truly believed I had more control over my capabilities, but… It was an extraordinary circumstance. The likelihood of something similar happening again is quite small,’ Castiel said as he shifted his gaze to the floor. He could feel Dean’s fear subsiding. It was still there, but not nearly as overpowering as it had been.

‘Great. Crisis solved,’ Dean said as he stood. He reached over and shut off the shower. ‘So, will you come out and have dinner?’

Castiel tugged at his sleeve and nervously bit his lip. ‘Um… I still haven’t groomed my wings…’

Dean stared down at Castiel. He rolled his eyes and turned towards the door. ‘Whatever. Suit yourself.’ He stepped forward, but stopped when he felt a tugging at his pant leg. He looked down to see Castiel staring up at him and blushing brightly.

‘I…that is… Would you like to help?’

Dean gave Castiel an uncertain look. ‘Are you sure? I mean, I don’t think now’s the best time for that.’

Castiel blinked in confusion. Then his blush deepened as he felt Dean’s lust bear down on him. ‘Oh! Oh, no! Not that. Gabriel and I have very different definitions. I mean actually grooming. Straightening feathers, cleaning off dirt…that sort of thing,’ he hurriedly explained. ‘Not that I’m opposed to Gabriel’s definition. I would v—I mean! No! I’m good. Thank you.’ He buried his face back in his knees and covered his head with his wings. Why couldn’t he ever say the right thing? The perfect opportunity to flirt, even with his less than stellar timing, and he went and screwed it up.

His breath caught when he felt Dean’s hand softly touch his wing and slowly run down its length. He could feel Dean’s want and uncertainty as well as a soft tenderness through the cuff’s connection. He cautiously uncovered his head and glanced up at Dean.

Dean brought his hand back up and let it hover over the feathers. ‘I have no idea how to do this,’ he admitted with a slight grin.

Castiel took Dean’s hand in his and scooted out from his hiding place. He brought one of his wings forward and guided Dean’s hand through the feathers. ‘You just…make them look nice,’ he said softly and quickly let go of Dean’s hand. He turned so his back was to Dean and spread his wings slightly. ‘I’m sure you’ll do a good a good job.’ He tried to control his breathing as he waited.

Dean stared at the wings, not really sure where to begin or what to do. They looked immaculate. With unkempt hair and a rumpled suit, Dean would have thought Castiel’s wings should have been a mess, too. Even with Castiel’s wings in pristine condition, Dean didn’t want to waste the open invitation.

He lightly stroked the base of a wing and followed the bottom edge, completely mesmerized by how the feathers sprang back into position after he passed over. With both hands, he started at the center of Castiel’s back and slowly moved along the ridge of each wing, dragging his fingers and displacing feathers as he went. By the time Dean reached the tips, Castiel was hunched slightly and his breathing was ragged. Dean gave a gentle tug, and Castiel let out a muffled moan.

Dean laced his fingers through the feathers and leaned in. ‘Do you want me to stop?’ he whispered into Castiel’s ear. When Castiel shook his head, Dean softly kissed the side of his neck, pulling out another soft moan.

Castiel was trying desperately to be quiet.  He resorted to covering his mouth with a towel to drown out the sounds he was making. Unlike Dean’s last exploration of his wings, Castiel felt no guilt or embarrassment through the cuff’s link. It was just pure need and want. And every time he made a noise, it would intensify, sending waves a pleasure and anticipation through his body. He gasped as Dean reached under his wing and began stroking the inner side. He leaned back against Dean with a low groan and rested his head on Dean’s shoulder.

Dean bit his lip, resisting the urge to let his hands stray from Castiel’s wings to the obvious bulge. He had a feeling that he would be able to get Castiel off by stroking his wings alone. He nuzzled against the angel’s neck, kissing it before he attacked the ear. He wasn’t expecting it when Castiel’s hand shot up and gripped at his hair. He slowed his petting as he watched Castiel’s other hand attempting to undo his belt. He gave a wicked grin as a thought struck him.

‘Castiel?’

‘Mmm?’

‘I forbid you to touch yourself,’ he said as he went back to nibbling at Castiel’s ear.

A shiver ran down Castiel’s spine as he felt the order settle over him. He really hadn’t been expecting it to turn him on as much as it did. But wasn’t he supposed to be testing the cuff’s power? Did this situation count? His thoughts were derailed as Dean’s fingers raked along the space between his wings. Oh, fuck tradition right in the ass.  He let Dean’s order take over and found that he truly was unable to touch himself. Dean was going to drive him crazy with pleasure and it thrilled him.

Dean gently maneuvered a wing closer and lightly kissed it. At Castiel’s needy whine, he nipped at it.

Castiel stiffened in Dean’s arms and the lights flickered. He cried out Dean’s name as he came.

Dean softly stroked Castiel’s hair as the angel collapsed against him, gasping for air. When Castiel had recovered, Dean spoke. ‘So. Grooming, huh?’

Castiel angled his head so he could see Dean better and frowned. ‘It wasn’t supposed to go that way.’ He felt a slight twinge of regret from Dean and quickly continued. ‘But I liked it! Very much. No regrets.’

Dean smiled and kissed Castiel. ‘Good to hear.’


	7. Chapter 7

 

Castiel stared blearily at the bathroom wall. The shower was still running, and he was still tucked between the toilet and tub. None of it had been real. All the progress he and Dean had made… Dean thoroughly molesting his wings… Well, the mess in his trousers was real enough. He groaned in frustration and let his head drop back against the wall, momentarily enjoying the pain. He was back to square one.

He could feel Dean’s presence in the other room. That was probably why his dream had felt so real. The cuff’s connection was stronger the closer Dean was, and the Hunter’s emotions were a vibrant, jumbled mess.

Maybe…maybe Castiel’s dream wasn’t too far off. If it had been completely influenced by the cuff’s magic, then he knew just what the problem was and how to solve it. Dean would no longer have to fear him.

Feeling confident over the situation, Castiel stood and quickly tidied himself up. He leaned over and shut off the shower. He could now hear the voices in the main room and how they suddenly stopped.

Castiel sagged in defeat. As much as he would like to, he couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever. He stared at the door, listening to the silence. He slowly opened the door and peaked outside. Three pairs of concerned eyes met his. He quickly looked down and shuffled into the main room.

Dean lifted up a paper bag from the burger joint he and Sam had finally settled on. ‘I gotcha a cheeseburger and curly fries… Are you…doing better?’

Castiel nodded and took a seat at the small card table. I’m fine,’ he insisted. ‘Though I _would_ like to speak with you in private later.’

‘Sure. Uh…’ Dean looked at Sam and raised his brows in question.

‘Gabe and I can probably find something to do in town,’ Sam offered.

‘ _Haunted Death Mansion 3_!’ Gabriel shouted as he jumped up. At Sam and Dean’s blank stares, he explained further, ‘It’s great! This one, they’re basing off of _The Funky Phantom_!’

‘The what now?’ Dean asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Castiel’s horrified expression.

‘Trust me, it’s awesome. Cas, tell them it’s awesome!’

‘It’s awful!’ Castiel looked up at Dean. ‘He said the first one was like _Scooby-Doo_ ,’ he explained. ‘The characters were similar, true, but then the dog got rabies, killed off half the cast, was thrown in an _oven_ , and then the Daphne character slaughtered Shaggy with an axe!’

Dean stared at Castiel, dumbfounded. He looked over to find Sam with a similar look and Gabriel nodding with a manic grin.

‘And then Daphne was eaten by Scooby!’ Castiel cried as he grabbed Dean’s sleeve. ‘It was awful! It’s a horrid series made of trash!’

‘I thought the dog died…,’ Sam said.

‘He comes back as a zombie!’ Gabriel squealed. His wings were shaking with excitement. ‘ _2_ was _Jabberjaw_ , _3_ is _The Funky Phantom_ , and rumor has it that _4_ is gonna be _Josie and the Pussycats_!’

‘I hate to say it, but… I’m actually kind of curious,’ Sam said with a shrug.

‘Great! I’m ready, let’s go!’ Gabriel exclaimed as he grabbed Sam’s arm and tried pulling him towards the door.

Sam sighed and let himself get pulled along.

‘You’re gonna love it, Sammy!’

Sam gave Dean one last look over his shoulder. It had taken a lot on his part, but he had finally convinced Dean to wait for Castiel to make the first move. He hoped Dean would be able to keep a cool head while he was gone.

Dean turned to Castiel after the door shut. ‘So, what did you wanna talk about?’ he asked, scrutinizing Castiel’s every move.

Castiel shifted in his seat and looked away. ‘I…didn’t think we would be having this conversation so soon…,’ he softly replied. He bit his lip as he listened to Dean tapping his finger on the table. After a minute of silence, he looked up to find Dean staring at him with an unreadable expression. He tried to figure out what was going on in Dean’s head through the link, but he could only pick up on the fear and aggravation. He looked away and began picking at his sleeve. Dean hadn’t given him much time to think about how he would approach the matter. He felt Dean’s irritation spike.

‘What. Did. You. Want. To. Talk. About?’ Dean ground out.

Castiel shrank away. ‘N-never mind. I think it would be better to speak when you’re calmer.’ He jumped and his wings flared out when Dean slammed his fist on the table.

‘That was a direct question, Castiel! You can’t… You _have_ to answer it,’ Dean said with a tremor of desperation. ‘How many times have you lied to me today?! _How_ are you able to lie?!’

Castiel’s stomach clenched, and he grabbed at the silver cuff on his wrist. It was still there, but it brought him little comfort. His eyes flicked up, and he saw Dean’s head buried in his hands. ‘Dean…?’

‘Did I do it wrong?’ Dean asked. He looked up at Castiel, radiating complete misery. ‘Did I get the spell wrong? Was I supposed to _say_ something?’

Castiel brought his wrist up and examined the cuff’s spell work. ‘Everything looks correct…’

‘If I asked you to dance on the table like a chicken, would you have to do it?’

Castiel shrugged and looked down.

‘Castiel, go…stand in the corner,’ Dean said, not once taking his eyes off the angel.

Castiel could feel the slight tug of the order, but he ignored it. After a few moments of silence, he met Dean’s eyes. He was taken aback by the absolute shock he saw.

‘How can you just brush it off like that?!’ Dean demanded.

‘I—‘

‘Gabriel got a fuckin’ nosebleed when he fought against Sam’s question, so why the fuck are _you_ unaffected? Do you feel _anything_?!’

Castiel hugged himself with his wings and ran his fingers over the spells carved into the cuff. Dean was right. He should not have been able to ignore the order. ‘I…I felt something, but… I didn’t have to obey it. Like a…a nudge.’ He sensed the Hunter’s fear escalate.

‘I would never harm you!’ he quickly added, hoping to put Dean’s fear to rest. ‘The Hunter in the woods was the only accident—light bulbs and windows a-and stuff…they don’t count!’

‘What?’ Dean sat up straight with a confused look. ‘What are you on about?’

‘You’re afraid of me! You’re scared of what I can do.’

‘Well, yeah! But, right now, I’m scared that I’m gonna lose you!’ Dean shouted back.

Castiel sucked in a breath. He wasn’t expecting that. ‘I…don’t want to leave…,’ he quietly replied.

‘Fine, so you don’t leave. You stay. What if someone finds out that you’re not exactly bound to me? What then? I don’t know if some other Hunter will try his luck, or if I’ll be forced to release you,’ Dean explained as he took Castiel’s hands in his. ‘I didn’t tell Sam—he just thinks I said something stupid in the cave, but I know I won’t be able to keep this from him for much longer. Same with Bobby. He’ll pick up on something being wrong.’

‘It doesn’t have to be wrong,’ Castiel replied as he loosened his wings. He offered Dean an uncertain smile. ‘I’m just a little different. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?’

Dean rolled his eyes and scoffed. ‘Little, my ass. Cas, you’re _a lot_ different.’

‘Is that so bad?’

Dean sighed as he ran his thumbs over Castiel’s knuckles. ‘I really don’t know anymore.’

‘So… _are_ you afraid of me?’ Castiel hesitantly asked, staring at their hands.

‘I dunno,’ Dean replied. He was going to pull away, but the angel had laced their fingers together and was gripping tightly. ‘Me and Gabe already talked about it, and he seems pretty sure that you won’t spaz out and kill everyone. I’m…actually pretty good on that right now,’ Dean admitted. ‘Probably shouldn’t be, but…yeah.’

‘Oh…’ Castiel thought back to his dream. Was Dean able to pick up on _his_ emotions through the link? ‘Um…a little bit before I came out…uh…d-did you…er…’ He stuttered to a halt, blushing lightly. What if he was wrong?  How could he ask without embarrassing himself? He forced himself to look up at Dean. ‘Were you really turned on?’ he asked in a rush.

Dean blinked, thrown off by the question. ‘Uh…actually…yeah.’ He noticed that Castiel’s blush brightened. ‘Don’t tell me you were the cause of that.’

Castiel nodded as he disentangled his hands from Dean’s.

Dean opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He didn’t know what to say in response to the revelation. It wasn’t unheard of for a Hunter to catch glimpses of their bound angel’s feelings. Bobby and Karen’s bond was strong enough for that, but it had developed over time. Years. And what he had felt was much stronger than anything Bobby had described.

Dean took a mental stock of what was going on. He had an angel with black wings. This angel was exceedingly powerful and could easily brush off commands. Dean was already tapped into Castiel’s psyche.

As he thought about it, the anxiety he had been feeling since he and Castiel left the cave had all but vanished when he and Sam had left the motel in search of food. And he was feeling it right at that moment. He wasn’t actually anxious or nervous. He could see that now. The only thing he could compare it to was food. His own thoughts and feelings were like food he was currently tasting, flooding his senses, and Castiel’s were like a fresh pie sitting on the counter. Something that overwhelmed his sense of smell and he could just barely taste through scent alone.

He found that Castiel’s own worry and fear were doubling up on his own, making him feel much worse. Now that he could tell the difference, he felt more at ease. Not great but it was a start.

‘So… The cuff’s working, but it isn’t…,’ Dean eventually said.

‘It would seem so.’

‘Any idea _why_?’

‘It could be any combination of factors. I…I’m certain I’m a large part of the reason,’ Castiel quietly admitted.

‘You’re implying I’m part of it, too,’ Dean pointed out.

‘We’re bound together, however frail the connection may be…so, of course you have an influence on it.’

‘This is so fucked up!’ Dean growled into his hands.

‘The situation is rather contradictory…’

Dean rested his elbows on his knees and stared at Castiel. The angel stared back miserably. ‘So, what do we do?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know. I could ask Gabriel,’ Castiel suggested, despite knowing the Hunter’s answer.

‘I…really don’t wanna tell _anyone_.’

Castiel sighed. He straightened up and stretched out his wings. He faltered when he caught Dean’s lust spike. Dean must have noticed because he quickly looked away.

Castiel carefully tucked his wings behind him and coughed awkwardly. ‘S-someone will eventually notice,’ he stuttered.

‘Not if you stop lying,’ Dean replied. ‘And start obeying.’

Castiel ducked his head. ‘I don’t know if I can promise that.’

Dean huffed in annoyance and looked away. ‘Can you at least _try_?’ he asked, not bothering to mask his exasperation.

‘I-I’ll try.’

Both human and angel sat in awkward silence for a long time. Dean relocated to one of the beds and turned on the TV.

Close to midnight, a loud commotion in the hallway alerted them to Sam and Gabriel’s return. Sam was the first to enter and looked worse for the wear. Gabriel bounded in after him, chattering excitedly about the advancements in blood effects.

Dean looked up at Sam in concern. ‘You all right there, Sammy?’

Sam shook his head. ‘I’m gonna have nightmares for the rest of my life.’

‘That bad?’

Sam gave Dean a withering look as Gabriel rambled over him.

‘It was great! _Better_ that the last two! Combined! Oh, Cas, you shoulda been there! You would have loved it,’ Gabriel said as he hurried up to his brother and wrapped an arm around him.

‘You know how I feel about those movies,’ Castiel replied, a touch more forlornly than he’d meant.

Gabriel gave Castiel a quick once over. ‘You two square?’

Castiel nodded. ‘We’ve found a possible solution.’

‘Good!’ Gabriel replied. ‘Glad to hear it.’ He searched the younger angel’s eyes. He tentatively reached out and felt reassured. Satisfied, he nodded and clapped Castiel on the back. ‘Now let’s introduce you to a genre if film I _know_ you’ll like.’

Castiel reluctantly allowed himself to be led over to the vacant bed.

Dean protectively held the remote. ‘I don’t know if I quite trust your taste in movies.’

Gabriel grinned. ‘C’mon, Dean-o. _Everyone_ likes what I have in mind. You, especially. I’m sure.’

‘I have to agree with Dean,’ said Sam. ‘I mean, that was one fucked up movie…’

‘Aww, but the movie I had in mind’s got pirates and pretty girls, and an epic battle against skeletons!’ Gabriel pouted.

‘It _sounds_ interesting,’ Castiel said cautiously. The problem with his brother was that you never knew what the end result would be.

Gabriel’s grin widened. ‘See? Cas is in!’

Dean sighed and looked to Sam with a doubtful expression. ‘No, thanks.’

Gabriel ignored Dean and snapped his fingers.

Dean raised his brow at Sam and nodded his head in Gabriel’s direction.

Sam crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Whatever Gabriel had chosen had to be better than the atrocity he had witnessed earlier.

‘Oh, my.’

At Castiel’s shocked muttering, both Hunters looked at the TV. It was just as Gabriel had promised: pirates and pretty girls. However, he had conveniently forgotten to mention just how horny said pirates and girls were.

Dean pointed the remote at the TV and turned the power off. At least, he tried. Repeatedly. ‘Gabriel!’

‘Oh, come on! _Cas_ is enjoying it.’

Castiel blushed deeply and tore his eyes from the screen. He had trouble keeping them away, and he could feel Dean’s amusement.

Gabriel hopped onto the bed next to Castiel. ‘As long as no one whips it out, we can all enjoy this magnificent contribution to porn.’

Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Gabriel…’

Gabriel’s attention snapped to Sam. His wings slumped in defeat as he awaited the inevitable command.

Sam watched Gabriel’s body language then looked away. ‘Never mind,’ he said. He headed over to his bag and pulled out a book.

Gabriel blinked in confusion at the dismissal. He frowned as he watched Sam take a seat at the card table and begin to read. At first, he wondered why Sam had chosen to ignore him. Then he realized, Sam was giving him a choice. Probably trusting or hoping that he would make the ‘right’ one.

Gabriel sighed and snapped his fingers, returning control of the television to Dean.

‘Thank you,’ Castiel whispered.

‘Don’t think you’re getting off that easy,’ Gabriel warned. ‘I fully intend to corrupt you.’

Castiel bowed his head and frowned. He didn’t think he needed to be corrupted. And certainly not by his brother. He returned his attention back to the TV, fully prepared to have everything fly right over his head. Next time, he was going to bring a book. If there _was_ a next time.

‘Really, Dean?’ Gabriel teased and waved a hand at the TV. ‘This shit is _barely_ a step above porn!’

‘Don’t compare _Dr. Sexy_ to your trash!’ Dean shot back.

.-.-.-.-.

Dean awoke with a crick in his neck. He found that Sam was already up and ready to go, so he set to waking up the pair of angels. He hated to admit it, but Gabriel actually looked innocent curled up with Castiel.

It took a while, but, with Sam’s help, Dean finally managed to get the angels up and into the back of the Impala. It was slow going, but at least there was very little complaint or argument.

‘Hey! Why are you two so out of it?’ Dean asked after they had been on the road for about an hour.

‘ _Looney Tunes_ ,’ Gabriel replied.

‘And _Merrie Melodies_ ,’ Castiel helpfully added through a yawn.

‘You stayed up all night watching cartoons?’ Sam asked.

‘Of course!’ Gabriel shifted in his seat and pulled Castiel towards him

Sam watched the two angels wordlessly arrange themselves so that they were perfectly balanced against each other. Gabriel’s head lay on Castiel’s shoulder, who in turn had his cheek and nose buried in the blond’s hair.

The sight made Sam a little jealous. He was jealous of Castiel, being able to snuggle up to Gabriel, and he was jealous of the brothers in general. It had been years since he and Dean would have been found in a similar position. Anymore, Dean referred to any form of affection as a ‘chick flick moment,’ and shied away.

.-.-.-.-.

It was early evening when they arrived back at the Singer house. Dean grunted as he hefted one of the duffels over his shoulder. He was about to head for the front door, but was stopped by a hand at his elbow. He looked behind himself to find Castiel staring warily at the house.

‘Somethin’ wrong?’

Sam and Gabriel stopped on the porch steps and turned to look at Castiel. Gabriel caught his brother’s stare and immediately jumped down from the porch. A quick beat of his wings softened his landing, and he ran to join Castiel behind Dean.

Sam watched the display, just as bewildered as Dean. The door opened and Sam turned back to face an older angel with pale brown wings. The angel grinned at him before searching out Castiel and Gabriel.

‘Cassie! Gabey! No hugs?’


	8. Chapter 8

‘Hello, Balthazar,’ Castiel politely greeted, not moving from behind Dean.

‘Why the fuck are _you_ here?!’ Gabriel cried out over his brother.

‘I volunteered,’ Balthazar cockily replied. ‘Turns out the hazard pay is rather good.’

Dean looked from the new angel to Castiel in confusion. ‘What’s he talkin’ about?’ he asked, jabbing a thumb in Balthazar’s direction.

Castiel would have ignored the question, but he recalled his conversation with Dean from the previous night. That, and Balthazar was watching him. Closely. ‘He… I believe he is here in the capacity of body guard,’ he replied.

‘Huh?’

‘Father is worried about our safety.’

‘Don’t trust him!’ Gabriel warned Dean. ‘He’ll kidnap us and steal your kidneys!’

‘That was _one_ time!’ Balthazar shot back with a good-natured grin.

Dean could feel an uneasiness washing over him, and immediately pinpointed Castiel as the source. He stepped back and wrapped an arm around Castiel’s shoulders. He saw Balthazar raise a brow at Castiel and felt a jolt of smug triumph that wasn’t his. He would have to remember to ask Castiel about what was going on later.

‘So…’ Balthazar looked between Dean and Castiel. ‘My advice worked, huh?’

‘ _You’re_ advice was a complete failure,’ Castiel tersely replied.

‘What advice?’ Dean asked, looking down at Castiel.

Castiel bit his lip and made a show of fingering the silver cuff he wore. He didn’t want to say anything, but he was willing to embarrass himself for the sake of making it appear that he was properly bound to Dean. ‘I…asked for advice on…flirting,’ he quietly replied. He looked up at Dean pleadingly. ‘Can we discuss this later?’

Dean nodded. With a sigh, he ushered Castiel up to the house, Gabriel close on their heels. The moment they reached the porch, Gabriel latched onto Sam and glared at Balthazar.

‘C’mon, Gabey,’ Balthazar said with open arms. ‘I’m here to help.’

‘We don’t need your help,’ Gabriel spat out. He tightened his grip on Sam and pushed their way into the house. Sam shot Dean a worried look as he was dragged out of sight.

‘Please forgive Gabriel’s behavior,’ Castiel said. It was his automatic response for when his brother turned to rudeness around other angels. He looked up at Balthazar. ‘But, I do agree with him. Your help is neither needed nor wanted. We’re not helpless. _I’m_ not helpless.’

Balthazar let out a laugh. ‘Sure, you’re not. You’re fantastic at keeping dust bunnies off the couch,’ he said as he ruffled Castiel’s hair. He turned away and entered the house, leaving Dean and Castiel alone on the porch.

Dean couldn’t tell who was more irritated: him or Castiel. He hadn’t realized how tightly he was holding Castiel until the angel patted his hand. ‘Oh, er… Sorry.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘It’s all right,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m all right.’

Dean gave Castiel one last squeeze, reveling in the flare of happiness he felt, before he headed inside.

Castiel stood on the porch for a few minutes, examining his surroundings. Everything looked fine. He stepped through the doorway and frowned. Everything _looked_ fine. He was about to head in Dean’s direction when he felt a flicker of emotion through the cuff’s connection. He stiffened and began breathing heavily. His father really was on top of things, sending _her_. He rushed to the kitchen in time to see the pretty redhead approach _his_ Hunter.

Dean had a slightly goofy smile as he spoke to her. Castiel panicked. He needed to get Dean’s attention, and quick, so he thought of something that would be sure to work. He threw everything he had into the link he shared with Dean and was rewarded.

Dean had been having a nice conversation with the pretty Hunter, Anna. She was smart, funny, and pretty. A little older than he was, but so what? She was gorgeous. As she drew closer, giving him a friendly smile, he was suddenly hit with an image of himself holding Castiel up against a shower wall, pale legs wrapped around his waist, fingers buried deep in black feathers, and fucking the angel’s brains out. He blinked and the image was gone. He wanted more. And just where _was_ Castiel? He looked over his shoulder, not catching the frown that crossed Anna’s face, and found Castiel standing awkwardly in the doorframe, a light blush creeping over his cheeks.

Castiel averted his eyes and hurriedly walked up to Dean. He hesitantly linked his arm through Dean’s before raising his eyes to meet Anna’s. ‘Please stop,’ he said softly.

‘Oh, Cas,’ Anna said with a patronizing tone. ‘I’m just introducing myself to Dean. Can’t one Hunter talk to another without their angels getting jealous?’ She smiled kindly at Castiel and turned her attention back to Dean. ‘So, as I was saying—‘

The moment Castiel felt Dean’s thoughts slip back to focus solely on Anna, his wings flapped out aggressively. ‘I asked you politely.’

Anna eyed Castiel, figuring out the best course of action. ‘Castiel, I’m not a threat,’ she said calmly, projecting a sense of serenity at Castiel. ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’

Castiel took a quick look around the kitchen. Sam and Gabriel were nowhere to be seen—more than likely, Gabriel had escorted Sam well out of Anna’s range. Bobby sat the table across from Balthazar, both watching with interest. Karen was stirring a sauce, staring at the wall with a look of mild confusion. And Dean was back to staring at Anna. No one would defend him.

It was just like home. Gabriel off somewhere else, and everyone ignoring him or telling him everything was _fine_. He didn’t leave just for it all to follow him. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t fragile. _Dean_ knew that. Dean didn’t treat him like a little kid. Dean paid attention to him. Dean listened to him. Dean liked him. And Anna was trying to take that away. If Anna wanted to take what was important to him away, he’d take away what was important to her.

Castiel glared at Anna as he laced his fingers tightly through Dean’s. ‘Everything _will_ be fine once you stop manipulating _my_ Hunter, you amputated _freak_!’ he yelled. He took a breath and readied himself for what was to come with his next outburst. ‘What sort of angel cuts off their own wings?!’

Dean had only been vaguely aware of his surroundings, but everything came crashing back with a loud crack. ‘You’re an _angel_?’ he said, blinking out of his daze. When he looked around, he found Anna, seething, with her hand raised, and Castiel blinking away tears.

‘How _dare_ you?!’ Anna hissed. ‘ _Me_? A _freak_? You’re one to talk, Charbroiled.’

Castiel flinched and looked at the floor.

‘What I did isn’t uncommon. Plenty of angels have cut their wings to live a normal life, and you know it. But _you_? You keep parading around with those disgusting, black _things_ on your back,’ Anna said lowly as she got closer to Castiel.

Castiel leaned back and had to let go of Dean to avoid Anna’s looming presence. His wings were folded tightly against his back, as if he could hide them.

‘You are aware that’s the only reason he likes you, right? Humans _like_ things that are different. They like their _pets_ with a _handicap_ ,’ Anna continued. ‘You’ve been out in public, right? Your first little Hunt? You’re not normal, and even the humans know it. I bet they stared and wondered what was wrong with you. Did they ask? Or were they too polite to say anything? Was it open staring, or did they look away when you caught them?’

Castiel’s heart was beating wildly. He couldn’t focus. Everything was closing in on him and growing dim. The lights in the kitchen shattered, and he bolted.

‘Cas!’ Dean made to follow, but a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked back at Anna and sent her a glare.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

‘Don’t tell _me_ that,’ Dean bit out.

Anna sighed. ‘I didn’t know he was that attached to you,’ she admitted. ‘And…he knows just what to say to piss me off.’

‘And _you_ know what to say to piss _him_ off.’

Anna nodded. ‘We make each other…uncomfortable. I didn’t _want_ to come here, but I was the only option.’

‘What do you mean?’ Bobby asked.

‘Anna’s the only angel we got that lopped off her wings,’ Balthazar answered. ‘Coulda sent me and a human, but if things got too hairy, well, human’s not much good against the supernatural. No offense.’

Bobby grunted in reply.

‘I can masquerade as a human,’ Anna elaborated. ‘Balthazar wears a false cuff, and we go out as Hunter and angel.’

‘I _thought_ I felt another angel somewhere,’ Karen said. She looked over Anna with sad eyes. ‘Did it hurt?’

Anna met Karen’s eyes and quickly looked away. ‘Yes. But it was worth it. I needed to hide. And hiding among humans is a lot easier if you _look_ human.’

‘Hiding from what?’ Dean asked.

‘It doesn’t concern you.’

‘Like hell it doesn’t! You guys are supposed to be here for Cas and Gabe’s protection, but you’re hiding from something?! _And_ you go around _insulting_ Cas? Some body guard,’ Dean shouted.

‘Protection _and_ convincing them to leave,’ Anna calmly replied. She tried placing her calming energies on Dean again, but the young Hunter was still livid. She tilted her head slightly. ‘You really do like him.’

‘W-what?’ Dean stuttered, not sure what to make of the change in subject.

‘I’ve been trying to calm you since Castiel left, but you’re still angry.’

‘No shit!’ Dean rolled his eyes and left the kitchen, hoping to find Castiel soon.

‘Oh! You project emotion,’ Karen exclaimed delightfully. ‘I slice.’

Anna stared blankly at Karen. ‘…Slice? Slice what?’

Karen smiled warmly and raised both hands. Delicate, silver blades materialized. ‘Everything,’ she replied. ‘I also slice a mean turkey.’

Bobby let out a gruff laugh. ‘You _sliced_ a mean turkey,’ he said. ‘Never thought a turkey could get possessed.’

Anna and Balthazar exchanged confused looks.

‘Slice and dice, huh?’ Balthazar commented. ‘Remind me not to get on your bad side.’

Karen let the blades vanish. ‘Good choice.’ She looked back at Anna. ‘And that was your one warning, dear.’

Anna blinked in confusion. ‘Warning? For what?’

‘You will not push your fake emotions on anyone living under this roof. You will not try to sabotage any relationships that may be occurring under this roof. You are here as a body guard, not a babysitter. You will protect. You will not impose rules or restrictions. Castiel’s wings may be an unfortunate color, but he has been nothing but polite and kind. Even helped with cleaning up without bein’ asked. So, if I see that poor boy in tears again, and you’re to blame… Well, let’s just say you’ll be wishin’ you had wings for me to cut off.’

Karen’s warm smile never left as she spoke, which only served to disturb Anna even more.

‘Spaghetti?’ Karen offered a plate to Anna.

Anna stared at the plate uncertainly.


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriel paced back and forth in Sam’s bedroom. ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry,’ he chanted as his wings flicked out in distress.

‘Gabriel, what’s going on?’ Sam asked.

Gabriel violently shook his head. ‘Dad sent them. They’re here to take us away. Anyone else, and I’d say they really were here as protection, but _them_? Hah!’

‘They can’t just take you away. You have to be released, and, well…’ Sam sat on the bed and gave Gabriel a worried look. ‘Do you _want_ to be released?’

Gabriel spun and faced Sam with wide eyes. ‘Y-you’d do that? Let me go? Just like that?’

‘Well… If that’s what you want.’

Gabriel stared at Sam, stunned.

‘Do you…want me to break the link?’

The answer came out before Gabriel could stop it. ‘No.’ He blushed and looked away. ‘I mean… I like it here. I like _you_. If you asked me last week, then…yeah, but you’ve kinda grown on me, Sammy,’ he said with a lop-sided grin. ‘I’ve had flings, but nothing’s ever felt like this. I dunno if it’s the cuff, but I feel safe with you. Hell, maybe I actually love you.’

Sam’s breath caught. ‘O-oh.’

Gabriel sat on the floor in front of Sam and hugged the Hunter’s legs. ‘I don’t wanna leave. Please don’t make us leave!’ he begged.

Sam reached down and petted Gabriel’s wings, earning a soft moan. ‘It’ll all work out. I won’t let them take you. And Dean’s stubborn and head over heels for Cas.’

Gabriel looked up at Sam with a doubtful look. ‘Just ‘cuz Cas has a crush on your stupid brother, doesn’t mean you have to…to reassure me of their so-called relationship.’

Sam laughed. ‘Dean falls fast and hard,’ he replied as his fingers dug deeper into the golden feathers.

Gabriel laid his head on Sam’s lap. ‘They haven’t even known each other for a week, and Cas is already…ugh. The shit going on his head? Be glad you have no telepathic connection to _your_ brother.’

‘It can’t be _that_ bad,’ Sam pointed out, ‘with how sheltered he is.’

Gabriel raised his head to glare up at Sam. ‘Just because he hasn’t been out much, doesn’t mean he has no libido and no imagination. Who do you think suggested we run away? It wasn’t me. I…I was all for him being locked away. He was happy enough watching stupid cartoons on the couch all day.’

‘So what made him want to leave?’ Sam asked.

Gabriel shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. Maybe he got bored.’ He paused and picked at a piece of lint on Sam’s knee. ‘About six months ago, he asked me to help him leave. He already had it all planned out. He could have left on his own if he really wanted, but he wanted me to come along. He…he made sure I knew all the risks of running away. _Me_. He wanted _me_ to know there’d be a chance of getting bound to a Hunter if we were discovered.’

Gabriel let out a mournful laugh. ‘So, of course I went with him. He’s my baby brother. He’ll always be my baby brother… I’m supposed to protect him. Keep him safe.’

Sam stroked Gabriel’s cheek and gave the angel a small smile. ‘Dean’s the same way with me. Even though I can take care of myself just fine, he’ll still play the part of the over-protective big brother.’

‘But you’re not a time bomb waiting to go off,’ Gabriel muttered. He stiffened when he realized he had said it aloud.

‘Time bomb? Gabe, what do you mean?’ Sam frowned at Gabriel, who was avoiding eye contact. ‘Gabriel? Tell me what you mean by that.’

Gabriel’s breathing quickened and he scooted away from Sam, but the Hunter grabbed his wrists and kept him in place. The command rang through his core, and he bit his tongue.

‘Gabriel, I order you to tell me what you mean by “time bomb”!’

Gabriel let out a sob as pain ran down his spine. He could feel the blood dripping down his chin, and his vision was blurring. If he could fight it just a little longer, maybe he would pass out from the pain. A hand guided his chin so that he faced Sam. He saw moving lips, but couldn’t hear what was being said. But he did feel another jolt from the cuff. He clamped his eyes shut, and trembled in Sam’s hold. He opened his mouth to beg the Hunter to stop, but what came out was far from a plea.

‘He can’t control it! He thinks he can, but he can’t!’ Gabriel tried to stop the confession, but it was too late. Everything came tumbling out, and he was helpless to stop it. ‘The Hunter in the forest wasn’t the only accident. There were others. Not human, but they weren’t supposed to die! Dad doesn’t just employ humans and angels. He’s got demons and vampires and werewolves, and, and everything! If one of them got too close to Castiel and made him uncomfortable, he’d smite them! He was cornered by three monsters once, teasing him about his wings, and he smote them all. That wendigo was probably the only one he _meant_ to smite.’

Gabriel cringed away at Sam’s shocked expression as he continued. ‘Everything fragile always has to be replaced because of him. Whenever he gets emotional, things start exploding and flying across the room. Dad says he has him locked away for his own protection, but it’s also for everyone else. No one’s supposed to know how much damage he can cause. If they knew, they’d kill him or use him!’

Gabriel gasped and sagged as the cuff’s spell ended. He wrapped his wings tightly around himself as he cried into his hands. ‘Don’t tell anyone. Please don’t tell anyone!’ he begged. ‘Don’t let them kill him. Don’t let them take him from me! He’s all I have left!’

Sam stared down at the broken angel. Castiel could smite three supernatural beings at once. It was unheard of. And he did on _accident_? Sam slid to the floor in silence and watched Gabriel cry. What should he do? Castiel was an obvious threat. He ran a hand over his face.

The lights flickered. Sam frowned as Gabriel’s sobs ceased. ‘Gabriel?’

‘It’s Cas,’ Gabriel weakly replied. ‘Nothing big…just a couple light bulbs. Anna probably said something. She’s good at that.’ He looked up at Sam uncertainly.

‘Are…are you gonna turn us over to them?’ he quietly asked.

Sam sighed and leaned back against the bed. ‘I probably should,’ he admitted.

Gabriel buried himself in his wings as his sobs renewed. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted his brother to have his freedom. Even if Castiel was bound to a Hunter, it was better than the gilded cage he’d been raised in. He looked up in shock when he felt Sam’s hand gently caressing a wing.

Sam smiled reassuringly at Gabriel. ‘I probably should just let them take you back,’ he said, ‘but I don’t want to. I won’t let them take you. And we should definitely talk to Dean about Castiel. He deserves to know.’

‘He already knows what Cas is capable of,’ Gabriel replied. ‘Cas told me last night. Dean doesn’t know the whole story, but Cas says they’re on good terms again.’

Sam nodded. There was a knock at the door. Gabriel beat him to a reply.

‘It’s safe.’

The door opened to reveal Dean, warily eyeing the two and their positions on the floor. His eyes lingered on Gabriel, taking in the bloodied nose and tear-stained cheeks. ‘Uh…I’m looking for Cas…’

Gabriel took a calming breath and reached out to his brother. ‘Basement. Panic room.’

‘Thanks… Er, are you all right?’ Dean asked.

Gabriel nodded. He gave Sam a quick glance. ‘When you find him…ask him about how many _monsters_ he’s accidently killed.’

Dean narrowed his eyes at the small angel. ‘What do you mean?’

When Gabriel refused to answer, Sam spoke up. ‘Castiel can smite monsters with no problem.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Dean carefully said. ‘So?’

‘So… Gabriel says Castiel killed three. One right after the other. On accident.’

Dean stiffened. ‘W-what?’

‘Dean—’ Before Sam could say anything else, Dean was gone. He sighed hopelessly and looked to Gabriel. ‘I’m sure it’ll all work out,’ he said and wrapped his arms around the angel.

Gabriel stared at the floor and let himself be pulled into Sam’s arms. He clung tightly to Sam, reminding himself that he was still there. He wasn’t gone. Not yet.

.-.-.-.-.

Dean found Castiel huddled behind the cot in the panic room. He carefully approached the shivering angel and noticed how Castiel’s shivers were becoming more violent with each step. He could feel a deep self-loathing and fear gaining in strength as well. He took a deep breath and quickly closed the distance between them. He knelt in front of Castiel and reached out, noticing how the angel cringed away before he even touched him.

‘Cas…’

‘Just…just release me and be done with it,’ Castiel mumbled, not bothering to look at Dean.

Dean looked away and sighed. ‘Cas, we can talk about this,’ he insisted. He wasn’t sure just what they could talk about, but he refused to lose his angel.

‘There’s nothing to talk about. I know what this is about. Gabriel gave me warning.’

‘Then…we work on getting your power under control.’

‘It doesn’t work like that,’ Castiel insisted. ‘It’s a reaction. What will you do? Have me go up to every evil creature until I don’t kill them on instinct? I think I can handle humans, but nonhuman?’

Dean rolled his eyes. ‘No, but I’m sure we can figure something out.’

‘No, we can’t,’ Castiel replied miserably. ‘If I can’t control it now, I won’t ever be able to control it. What do you think I’ve spent my life doing?’

‘Well… Here, how’s about you tell me just why you said the Hunter was the only accident?’ Dean asked.

‘He was human. Supernatural creatures aren’t important,’ Castiel explained. ‘They don’t count. They’re expendable. Like light bulbs. There’s always another handful waiting around the corner.’

‘Expendable? Cas—’

‘Stop it. Just release me. Let me go back to my father. Everyone would be much happier.’ Castiel twisted the cuff on his wrist. He pulled his wings more tightly about himself. He didn’t want to go, but he had to. He was a threat to Dean and everyone Dean loved. He knew it. Why was he trying to kid himself that he could live like a normal angel? He truly believed he could control his power around humans, but other creatures? The ones that had no redeeming quality, no soul? That, he definitely couldn’t help. He even tried to control it on occasion—at the cost of a few of his father’s employees.

‘And what about you? Huh? Would _you_ be happier? Up until five minutes ago, you wanted nothin’ to do with those two,’ Dean pointed out. ‘Just ‘cuz you’re getting whatever sort of vibes off of me, don’t mean you know what I’m thinkin’.’

‘Dammit, Dean! I’m a threat to you and your family!’ Castiel shouted. ‘Release me!’

Dean let out an irritated huff. ‘I’m not gonna release you, Cas. You’re _my_ angel. I caught you fair ‘n’ square, so quit askin’.’

‘Then I’ll do it myself!’ Castiel pulled the cuff off his wrist and threw it across the room.

Dean could have sworn his heart stopped. He stared, unseeing, as he listened to the sound of thin metal clattering against the floor. He was vaguely aware of Castiel standing and walking around him.

‘I’m going to go now. It was nice while it lasted, Dean. But…you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the trouble I’d bring,’ he said quietly. He made his way to the door and had the wind knocked out of him when he was shoved against the wall and forcibly spun around. ‘W-wha—?!’

Dean cupped Castiel’s face in his hands. ‘No! You don’t get to do that! Not…not for those reasons!’

With Dean touching him, Castiel could feel the desperation and loss coming from the Hunter. The willingness to make everything work. He tried to shut it out, to not be swayed by what he was feeling. ‘Please let go,’ he whispered.

‘One week. You haven’t been here that long. Just give me one week to figure something out,’ Dean pleaded.

Castiel squeezed his eyes shut and could feel tears streaming down his cheeks. ‘I can’t.’

‘One week. If I can’t do it, you’re free to go.’

‘Dean—’ Castiel was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressing against his. He tried not to melt into the kiss, but it was a hopeless battle. He brought his arms up and linked them around Dean’s neck as he deepened the kiss. He moaned in loss when Dean pulled back.

Dean gave Castiel a worried look. ‘One week?’

Castiel bit his lip and looked away. His eyes fell on the discarded cuff, and his stomach dropped. ‘It doesn’t matter. The cuff doesn’t work. You have no protection from me,’ he stated matter-of-factly.

‘That’s not true,’ Dean argued. ‘It works. Maybe not that great, but it works. I’ll figure it out. Just give me one week. That’s all I’m asking for.’ He gave Castiel a light kiss. ‘Please?’

Castiel reluctantly nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

For two days, Dean spent all of his spare time tearing through old books and researching online. Occasionally, Castiel would sit nearby, watching in silence. Dean would grab Castiel’s wrist and examine the spellwork on the cuff. Each time, the contact would send a small thrill through Castiel, and Dean would feel it as well. But Dean couldn’t linger on the feeling, he _needed_ to fix the cuff. After he fixed it, well…after was something else altogether.

Dean was beginning to feel like an expert on how the binding cuffs worked. A modified trapping spell for angels, a compulsion spell… Maybe he could change the spell around. Add something to it.

He was currently going from site to site trying to find alterations to the binding spell. Nothing was coming up. He sighed and leaned back as he rubbed his eyes. Next to the keyboard sat a plate of food. Chicken, salad, and a small slice of pie. When had that appeared? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Castiel on the floor, asleep against the computer desk. He smiled at Castiel and reached down to run a hand through the angel’s hair. ‘Thanks, Cas.’

Castiel mumbled in his sleep and repositioned his wings.

Dean munched on the food as he began a new search. He decided to focus on the evolution of the spell. At least that turned up results—mostly museum pieces of ancient binding cuffs.

‘Mm…Dean?’ Castiel yawned and stretched his wings out, staring up at Dean.

‘Yeah…?’ Dean replied distractedly.

‘How are you feeling?’ Castiel stood, slightly wobbly from sleeping on the floor.

‘Good…’

Castiel glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Dean, it’s four in the morning.’

Dean sighed and looked at Castiel. ‘I have to fix this.’

Castiel took Dean’s hand off the mouse and held it. ‘You need sleep,’ he insisted. ‘You can continue your search in the morning.’

Dean shook his head. ‘No, I can’t! We have a Hunt to go on in the morning!’

‘Please, Dean.’

Dean could feel Castiel’s worry for him. He looked back at the computer and bookmarked all of his open windows and tabs. He pushed away from the desk and stood. ‘Fine.’

Dean opened the door to his room. Castiel wished him goodnight and kept heading down the hallway. ‘Cas?’

Castiel stopped and looked back at Dean. ‘Yes?’

‘Where are you going?’

Castiel turned and faced Dean completely. ‘To the panic room,’ he replied. ‘It’s where I’ve been sleeping…’

Dean’s brows rose. ‘What? I thought… I thought you were sleeping on my bed or something.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘I didn’t wish to intrude.’

‘Well…’ Dean bit his lip and looked into his room. ‘You can sleep in here…if you want.’

Castiel frowned. ‘Then where will _you_ sleep?’ he asked.

‘Well…we can sleep together,’ Dean offered. ‘Please?’

Castiel blushed and looked away. He wanted to. He wanted to sleep, wrapped tightly in Dean’s arms. To let Dean hold him and whisper away any doubts he had. He swallowed as Dean approached him. ‘I…’

Dean lifted Castiel’s chin and stared into his eyes. ‘I want you to stay the night with me,’ he said softly.

‘It’s morning,’ Castiel said, his eyes darting from Dean’s eyes to his lips.

Dean gave a small smile and leaned down. He kissed Castiel lightly.

Castiel closed his eyes and tried to deepen the kiss, but Dean moved away. He sighed before opening his eyes. ‘Alright,’ he agreed and followed Dean.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel awoke to strong arms wrapped around him and fingers laced through his feathers. He sighed happily. He was so comfortable. He breathed deeply, taking in Dean’s scent. His nose wrinkled. Dean needed a shower. He was beginning to smell stale.

Castiel shifted his wings, and Dean pulled him more tightly against his chest. Castiel’s heart sped up. He slowly brought his hands up between them and rested them on Dean’s bare chest. Dean didn’t wake up, so Castiel gently pressed his lips against Dean’s chest. He felt a pang of regret. Dean was quickly running out of time. They had agreed to a week. It was already the third day, and Dean had made no progress. He had no idea of what to do. How could he help Dean? _Should_ he help Dean? He blinked away tears as he carefully extracted himself from Dean’s hold.

Dean grunted and shifted into a new position.

Castiel looked away as he summoned his clothing. He left the room and headed downstairs. He reached the kitchen and looked around in confusion. Sam and Gabriel sat at the table, eating cereal, Bobby was reading the newspaper, and Karen was humming as she placed fresh flowers in a vase. Balthazar and Anna were nowhere to be seen. He cast his senses out, but felt no trace of them. He looked to Gabriel for answers.

Gabriel shoved another spoonful of cereal into his mouth before answering Castiel’s silent question. ‘They left super early and took over our Hunt,’ he replied. He swallowed and grinned at Castiel. ‘Something about keeping us out of trouble.’

Castiel nodded and sat at the table, and large bowl of cereal was set before him, and he looked up to see Karen’s smiling face.

‘You’ve been doing such a good job makin’ sure Dean gets fed, that you’ve completely forgotten about yourself,’ she said. She leaned down and kissed the top of Castiel’s head. ‘So eat up.’

‘T-thank you…’

‘What is that boy up to, anyway?’ Bobby asked, setting the paper down.

Castiel stared at his bowl, not sure what to say.

‘I’m tryin’ to figure out how these damned cuffs work,’ Dean replied from the doorway. ‘Because _someone_ is leaking thoughts into my head.’

Karen stared at Dean. ‘Already? But…that takes years to develop!’

‘Tell _him_ that,’ Dean said as he jabbed a finger in Castiel’s direction.

Castiel blushed as all attention was directed at him. ‘I’m sorry…’

Castiel excused himself and hid in the panic room.

.-.-.-.-.

Balthazar and Anna returned that afternoon. Balthazar headed to the panic room, and Anna eventually made her way to Dean.

‘Whatcha hidin’ down here for?’ Balthazar asked as he sat next to Castiel on the cot.

Castiel didn’t look up from the book his was reading. He sighed and turned to the next page. ‘Reading.’

‘There’s more light upstairs.’

‘I’m fine, thank you.’

‘So… You and Dean, huh?’ Balthazar grinned at the light blush forming on Castiel’s cheeks. ‘Do anything fun yet?’

Castiel stared ahead. ‘I-I’d rather not talk about it.’

‘C’mon, Cas,’ Balthazar coaxed. ‘We’re friends. You can tell me all about it.’

Castiel shut his book and stared at his lap. ‘I considered you a friend back home… I…didn’t have many options for friends.’ He looked up at Balthazar. ‘But now… If you truly are my friend, you would leave.’

Balthazar laughed and wrapped an arm around Castiel’s shoulders. ‘Now, you know I can’t do that! Orders and all that.’

Castiel nodded in understanding.

‘So tell me about Dean.’

‘He’s nice.’

‘Nice…,’ Balthazar blandly repeated. ‘Not cute? Hot? Sexy?’

Castiel blushed more deeply. ‘Er, well… Yes. I mean… I-it’s more than that… His soul is pure.’

‘His soul?’

Castiel smiled and nodded. ‘Dean is so pure and brave, and he likes me.’

‘I’m sure he tells you that all the time,’ Balthazar said.

Castiel looked back down. ‘No. But I can feel it.’

‘Through the link?’ Balthazar asked distractedly.

Castiel nodded.

‘About that… How is the cuff working out for you?’

Castiel’s breath caught. ‘Fine.’

‘Then why is Dean researching binding cuffs like his life depends on it?’ Balthazar asked in a knowing tone.

Castiel’s grip on his book tightened and his knuckles turned white. ‘He…he can feel my thoughts and emotions,’ he replied. ‘Normally, that takes a lot of time…’

Balthazar raised a brow at Castiel as he tilted his head. ‘Then why focus on the compulsion and binding spells?’

Castiel began to shake and the lights flickered.

‘Cas, I’m concerned for you,’ Balthazar said softly. ‘You can talk to me.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘Everything’s fine,’ he insisted.

Balthazar reached over and touched Castiel’s cuff. ‘He doesn’t know, does he?’

‘Leave me alone!’ Castiel shouted, sending out a burst of energy.

Balthazar was thrown against the wall as all the lights and windows in the house burst.

Castiel fled the panic room and ran out to the junkyard.

Balthazar stood and rubbed his elbow. He didn’t really like having to corner and torment Castiel like he had, but Anna was calling the shots, and she could be downright scary if she wanted.

.-.-.-.-.

Anna looked over Dean’s shoulder at the computer screen. ‘What are you looking for?’

Dean jumped in surprise. ‘Um… It’s not important.’

Anna gave him a doubtful stare. ‘Are you experiencing trouble with the binding cuff?’ she asked.

Dean glared at her. ‘No. Exact opposite, really.’

Anna raised her brows in surprise. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah,’ Dean replied. ‘We got that telepathic link going on.’

‘That must be nice,’ Anna said. At Dean’s scoff, she went on. ‘I’ve never experienced it myself, but I’ve heard that it is one of the most satisfying connections an angel can make with another being.’

Dean nodded, not quite trusting Anna. ‘Okay.’

The lights and computer screen began to flicker.

‘What…?’ Dean glanced around then covered his head with his arms as the bulbs broke and the window shattered. ‘What the fuck?!’

Anna seemed unaffected as she shook her head in dismay. ‘Castiel…’

Dean turned to the computer to find it off. He powered it on, and sighed in relief as it came to life. The screen blinked at him, alerting him that it experienced a fatal error. ‘Sammy!’

Sam entered the room, looking around in confusion. ‘What was _that_?’

‘Sammy, fix it!’ Dean exclaimed as he dragged Sam into the room and forced him in front of the computer.

‘What?’

‘Fix it!’

Sam looked at the screen. ‘Uh…I can make it work, but…it looks like you’ve lost everything…’

‘Is something wrong?’ Anna asked. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

Dean glared at her. ‘No!’ He shouted before leaving to find Castiel. He felt like he was on the verge of making a breakthrough. He should have written everything down.

.-.-.-.-.

Dean finally found Castiel hiding out in one of the far corners of the junkyard. He was sitting in the passenger seat of an old junker that rested on top of several other cars. Dean carefully climbed up the pile of rusted metal and pulled open the door.

Castiel glanced at Dean and looked away. ‘How…how much damage did I cause?’ he asked.

Dean got into the car and stared at Castiel. ‘Enough,’ he replied.

Castiel pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them tight. ‘Do Bobby and Karen hate me?’

Dean shook his head.

‘You’re mad at me,’ Castiel said quietly.

‘Yeah, you fried the computer,’ Dean replied.

Castiel turned to look at Dean in confusion. ‘The computer?’

Dean sighed as he leaned back. ‘Was it…was it on purpose?’ he asked. ‘I mean…you didn’t sabotage my research, did you?’

‘No…I became upset. I lost control,’ Castiel carefully replied. ‘I’m sorry.’

Dean looked out the window and ran his hand along the worn steering wheel. ‘It’s not your fault. I’ll get back on track again…’

Castiel stared at Dean. His outbursts had never harmed electronic equipment. Sure, if there was glass involved, it was more susceptible to damage, but the wiring remained unaffected. The computer screen had no glass. His feathers ruffled as he realized what was going on. But he wanted to make sure. ‘Balthazar asked me about our relationship… Did…did Anna speak with you?’

Dean nodded. ‘She didn’t really ask about us as an item, though.’

‘Item?’

Dean looked at Castiel and gave him a small smile. ‘Yeah… Uh, together. You and me… Er…boyfriends?’

Castiel blushed. He returned Dean’s smile. ‘I…I like the sound of that…’

Dean grinned and put his arm over the back of the seat. ‘So, you wanna go snipe hunting?’

Castiel frowned at Dean. ‘I’m strictly forbidden from hunting snipes,’ he replied.

Dean rolled his eyes. ‘Of course you are.’

Castiel smiled shyly at Dean as he took the Hunter’s hand in his. ‘But…no one’s here to stop me,’ he said as he leaned over and pressed his lips against Dean’s. He pulled back and bit at his lip in uncertainty.

Dean stared at Castiel, baffled. ‘You…you know what a snipe hunt is.’

Castiel nodded. ‘Since I was thirteen. It was part of the sex talk, so I assumed it was in some way related.’

‘Snipe hunts were part of the sex talk?’

Castiel shrugged in response. ‘I was warned not to go with anyone that wanted to hunt snipes.’

Dean shook his head before grabbing at Castiel’s tie and pulling him forward.


	11. Chapter 11

When Dean and Castiel walked through the kitchen door, a box of light bulbs was thrust into Castiel’s arms. He looked from the box to Bobby.

‘You broke it, you fix it,’ Bobby explained.

Castiel nodded. He looked at the light fixture next to him then back at the box.

‘Problem?’ Bobby asked.

Castiel mumbled.

‘Say again?’

Castiel blushed brightly. ‘I—I don’t know how…’

Dean laughed, and Bobby stared at Castiel, open-mouthed. ‘How—?’ Bobby shook his head and lead Castiel to a nearby lamp, grabbing a rag on the way. He unplugged the lamp and pulled the lamp shade off. ‘Make sure the power’s off first,’ he said, showing the plug to Castiel. He took the rag and grabbed hold of what was left of the bulb. ‘Or a potato’ll work, too.’

‘Potato?’

‘To get what’s left of the light bulb without hurtin’ yerself on broken glass,’ Bobby replied as he twisted the remnants of the bulb out of the socket. He tossed the bulb into the trash and took one of the new bulbs out of the box Castiel carried. He screwed it in, replaced the shade, and plugged in the lamp.

‘Y’got it?’

Castiel nodded. ‘Yes… Um…what about the windows?’

‘Gabriel already got those. Took a couple tries, but he finally managed plain glass,’ Bobby replied before leaving Castiel alone.

‘Do you want help?’ Dean asked.

Castiel shook his head and smiled at Dean. ‘I’m all right. I can manage this. You should continue your search.’

Dean smiled gratefully at Castiel before heading for the computer.

.-.-.-.-.

After three days, Dean was going insane. He couldn’t find anything. When he had finally managed to track down his original research, it turned out to be a dead end. He was growing frustrated, and snapped at everyone over everything.

When Dean was forced to leave for a bathroom break, Castiel slipped in and poked around the computer. He wondered just what Anna had done. He stared at the screen helplessly. He couldn’t change it back. He didn’t know how. There had been angelic tampering. He could feel it. For the past three days, he took every chance he had to study the computer and figure out how to reverse Anna’s work. Even if it would be better if Dean never fixed the cuff, it wasn’t fair. Dean deserved a chance. He sighed as he heard Dean returning.

‘Cas? What are you doing?’ Dean asked harshly.

Castiel looked up at Dean and vacated the chair. ‘I was reading what you had found,’ he replied. ‘I didn’t touch anything.’

Dean slumped into the chair and checked over the screen. It was just as he’d left it.

‘Would you…like me to get you something?’ Castiel offered.

Dean shook his head, staring at the screen as he clicked on another link that lead to nothing useful. He sighed and leaned back. ‘Pie. Pie would be nice.’

Dean watched as Castiel quickly left the room. The angel’s wings were just so black. Much of his research overlapped, and none of it mentioned angels having black wings. He yawned as he looked back at the screen. Freaky black wings. In his exhaustion, Dean’s mind made connections it had never made before.

‘No fucking way…’

When Castiel returned with a slice of pie, Dean grabbed his wrist and pulled off the cuff.

‘D-dean?!’

Dean left for his bedroom, not saying a word. Castiel set the plate down and pulled his sleeve over his bare wrist. He followed Dean, but the door was shut in his face. He huffed and looked up and down the hallway. Keeping his wrist covered, he made his way to Sam’s room and hid.

Dean emerged about an hour later. He shoved the cuff into his pocket and set about looking for Castiel. He decided to start with Gabriel. He found the shorter angel sitting in the study on the couch with Sam. ‘Where’s Cas?’

Gabriel looked up from his Playboy magazine at Dean. ‘In the closet,’ he replied with a slight grin.

‘Cute.’ Dean eyed the magazine. The cover model looked very familiar.

‘No, really,’ Gabriel insisted. ‘He’s in Sam’s closet.’

‘Why?’ Dean squinted at the cover. Why was the cover model male?

Gabriel shrugged. ‘I don’t know why my brother does half the shit he does. He just does it.’

‘Thank—The fuck?! That’s _Sam_!’ he shouted, finally recognizing the model.

Sam straightened and jerked his head in Gabriel’s direction. ‘What?!’

Gabriel smiled sheepishly at Sam and showed him the centerfold. ‘It’s all in good fun, sugar! I can make you one of me.’

Sam ripped the magazine from Gabriel’s hold and flipped through it, blushing brighter and brighter. It looked just like him. It _was_ him. ‘How…?’

‘I know your body…intimately,’ Gabriel replied as he crawled into Sam’s lap.

Dean backed up. ‘I’ll leave you two to it…,’ he said before darting away.

He found Castiel just where Gabriel said he’d be. He pushed Sam’s shirts out of the way and crouched in front of Castiel. ‘Why are you hiding in here?’ he asked.

Castiel showed Dean his bare wrist. ‘I didn’t want anyone to see…’

Dean stared at the naked wrist. He took Castiel’s right hand and pulled out the binding cuff. ‘How’s about round two?’ he said before slapping the cuff onto Castiel’s wrist.

Both Hunter and angel gasped at the sensation that fell over them. It was much stronger than the easy warmth they had felt before.

Castiel held his wrist in front of his face and stared at the cuff. He turned his wrist over, examining every angle. It looked exactly the same. He looked up at Dean’s smiling face.

‘Time for a test run…’ Dean stood and helped Castiel up. ‘Do you want to stay here, with me?’ Dean asked.

Castiel stared at Dean, sadly. ‘Dean…y-yes.’ He clapped his hand over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that. He felt Dean’s relief and triumph flood over him. He stared at the cuff in astonishment. ‘How…how did you…?’

Dean grinned. ‘I figured it out,’ he said smugly. ‘Now, come here and hug me!’

Castiel felt the order settle over him, prompting his feet forward. It felt surreal. He wasn’t against the order, but… He tried to fight against it. He stumbled and fell into Dean. His wings spread out, trying to gain some balance. He could feel the spell urging him on, rewarding him for being halfway there. He felt a little giddy just touching Dean. He let the spell guide his arms around Dean and embrace the young Hunter. He sighed happily as a blissful warmth shot through his body. Was this what his brother felt with Sam? What Karen felt with Bobby? No wonder they were so close to their Hunters. He could feel everything coming from Dean. The warmth, the kindness, the love. He squeezed harder and he began to cry.

.-.-.-.-.

For two hours, Dean had Castiel perform simple, stupid tasks. They ended up sitting on the floor of Sam’s bedroom. ‘Touch your nose! Touch _my_ nose!’ He asked the angel pointless questions. ‘What part of me’s your favorite…physically?’ He giggled as Castiel blushed, claiming it was a tie between his eyes and his hands. Dean was ecstatic. The solution had been so simple.

‘So, you like my hands, huh?’ he asked after a moment of silence.

Castiel nodded.

‘Would you like them to be anywhere in particular?’ Dean asked, smirking.

Castiel blushed and buried his face in his hands, nodding. His wings flicked out and bristled in anticipation.

Dean watched Castiel’s reaction and felt butterflies that he knew weren’t his own. ‘Where?’

Castiel mumbled into his hands, and his wings spread out, stretching to their full wingspan.

‘I can’t hear you, Castiel,’ Dean said teasingly. ‘Where do you want my hands?’

‘On my wings,’ Castiel whined. He peeked up at Dean. He was suddenly reminded of his dream. The thought went straight to his groin.

‘Do you want me to touch your wings right now?’ Dean asked.

Castiel nodded. He gasped and moaned softly when he felt Dean’s fingers sifting through his feathers. Everything was amazing. Everything felt wonderful. Everything was ripped away as he was pulled up by his collar.

‘No! Bad!’ Gabriel pulled his brother away from Dean.

Dean glared up Gabriel. ‘ _You’re_ one to talk.’

Gabriel glared back and pushed Castiel behind him.

Castiel huffed in irritation. ‘Gabriel, I’m fine. I…I _want_ this,’ he said.

Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Castiel, he caught sight of Sam lingering in the doorway. ‘He shouldn’t be allowed to coerce my baby brother.’

‘I didn’t—Cas! Tell him what happened!’ Dean said as he stood.

Castiel fidgeted with the cuff. He looked off to the side as Gabriel stared at him. ‘We…we were testing the connection,’ he replied. ‘And…I… He asked if I wanted him to touch my wings.’ He looked at Gabriel and took a step back at the shocked expression he received.

‘But… I thought… I thought it wasn’t working right?!’ Gabriel looked between Dean and Castiel.

‘What’s not working right?’ Sam asked as he entered the room.

Gabriel growled in frustration. ‘Their link!’ he bit out.

‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s none of your business, Sammy!’ Dean said.

‘Cas doesn’t have to obey Dean,’ Gabriel miserably replied. He sent Castiel a silent apology.

Castiel nodded and turned to Sam. ‘It’s true,’ he said as he looked up to calmly meet Sam’s eyes. ‘But it is no longer an issue. Dean has fixed the cuff’s spellwork.’

Sam looked at Castiel in confusion then at Dean. ‘What? Why…why didn’t you say anything?’ he asked, hurt by his brother’s mistrust.

Dean shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’

‘Dean—’

Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘What would you have done? Would have argued about how much of a threat he is, or would you have helped me fix the problem?’

Sam looked away. ‘I’m not sure… Both,’ he admitted.

Dean nodded. ‘So, can you blame me?’

Sam stared at the floor and eventually met Dean’s eyes. ‘I still wish you had told me.’

Dean sighed and looked at Castiel. ‘It doesn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done. Let’s just… Can we not say anything about it?’

Sam frowned at Dean. ‘Bobby and Karen deserve to know,’ he said as he crossed his arms.

Dean nodded and rubbed his neck. ‘Then…can we hold off telling them until after Balthazar and Anna are gone?’

‘I agree with Dean,’ Gabriel said. ‘I don’t…I don’t want them having any sort of excuse to take Cas away.’

Sam nodded in agreement. ‘Alright…’

‘Thanks, Sammy,’ Dean said, looking gratefully at Sam.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel didn’t have to be coaxed into Dean’s bed that night, and Dean didn’t have to be reminded that sleep was required for him to function properly. Dean spooned against Castiel, having to loop and arm under a wing to get comfortable.

After a few hours of sleep, Castiel woke up. He was about to go back to sleep, when he could have sworn he heard a noise. He edged out of Dean’s hold and quietly headed to the door. He used a little power to prevent the floorboards from creaking as he walked down the hallway to the stairs. He could hear Balthazar speaking softly.

Castiel crouched at the top of the steps and strained to hear.

‘Uh-huh. Everything’s all clear on this end,’ Balthazar said. ‘Right…see you soon.’

Castiel breathed in sharply. His legs shook as he stood. He quickly and quietly made his way back to Dean. He crawled into bed and clung on to Dean.

Dean opened his eyes and groggily stared at the messy brown hair pressing into his chest. ‘You okay there, Cas?’

Castiel shrugged. ‘I…I don’t know.’

Dean hugged Castiel and softly stroked his wings. ‘It’s okay,’ he said soothingly. ‘Everything’s fixed now.’

Castiel relaxed a little, feeling reassured.

When Dean next awoke, it was to an empty bed. He shot up when he heard Gabriel shout Sam’s name.

.-.-.-.-.

Gabriel fell back against the pillows of the lavish king-sized bed he had summoned. ‘Fuck…’

Sam smiled at Gabriel as he lay next to him. ‘So you liked that?’ he asked as he trailed his fingers over Gabriel’s wings. He dug deeper, feeling around where each wing connected to Gabriel’s back.

Gabriel nodded enthusiastically. He moaned and turned on his side, giving Sam better access.

Sam laughed and scooted closer to Gabriel. He bent forward and kissed the back of Gabriel’s neck. He kissed his way down between the three pairs of golden wings, rubbing his hand along Gabriel’s sides, and lightly teasing his ass.

‘Sa-am…,’ Gabriel whined. ‘Gimme a few minutes, at least!’ he begged.

‘But I like watching you squirm,’ Sam said as he turned Gabriel to face him. ‘You do it to me. Why can’t I do it to you?’

Gabriel licked his lips and giggled. ‘I’m not exactly stopping you…’

Sam pressed forward and nipped at Gabriel’s lips. He caught Gabriel’s tongue in his mouth and sucked before licking at the angel’s lips.

‘Sammy…’

Sam grinned and positioned himself over Gabriel. He kissed and sucked at Gabriel’s neck.

‘You’re gonna give me a hickey…,’ Gabriel groaned.

‘I think that’s the idea,’ Sam replied.

Gabriel giggled and lightly stroked Sam’s sides with his wings. ‘Mmm…’

.-.-.-.-.

Dean found Castiel sitting at the kitchen table, frowning at his eggs.

‘They’re just eggs, Cas. No need to be mad at them,’ he said lightly as he sat next to Castiel.

Castiel looked up at Dean. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just upset right now,’ he replied. ‘Please…please don’t ask why…’

Dean nodded. ‘Okay… Will you at least tell me later?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then we’ll worry about it later,’ Dean said, clapping Castiel on the back. ‘Until then, you shouldn’t frown at happy eggs.’

Castiel sighed. He didn’t understand Karen’s fascination with feeding him food in the shape of happy faces. This time, his plate had eyes made of eggs, bacon for a mouth, and seasoned potatoes for hair. He looked up at the sound of Balthazar and Anna entering the kitchen.

‘Mm! Something smells absolutely wonderful!’ Balthazar exclaimed.

Karen smiled at him and handed him a plate. ‘Thank you!’

As Balthazar took a seat, Castiel stood. ‘I’ve lost my appetite,’ he said quietly, pushing his plate to Dean and leaving the kitchen.

Anna made to follow, but Karen stood in her way. Karen gave Anna an even stare and handed her a plate of food.

‘Have a seat, dear,’ Karen said sweetly. ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.’

Anna huffed in irritation. ‘You didn’t make Castiel stay,’ she argued.

‘That poor boy is under so much stress right now,’ Karen replied as she took Anna by the elbow and lead her to the table. ‘I think we can permit him to miss a meal or two.’ She pulled out a chair and crossed her arms, staring expectantly at Anna.

Anna sat and began eating.

Karen nodded happily and set about cleaning up.

.-.-.-.-.

For the rest of the day, Castiel was extremely nervous. He jumped at everything. Even Gabriel was beginning to worry. Castiel had shut Gabriel out of his thoughts, and it was making Gabriel worried and nervous.

He tried asking Castiel what was going on, but Castiel would just look away and shake his head. The only other time Castiel had acted so secretively was when he was contemplating running away…

Gabriel resorted to tracking down Dean for answers. He found Dean bent over the engine of the Impala. ‘De-ean!’ he whined as approached.

Dean sagged and took a calming breath before facing Gabriel. ‘What do you want?’

‘Why’s Cas bein’ weird?’ Gabriel asked in the same whiney tone.

‘I didn’t ask,’ Dean said as he went back to fixing the engine.

Gabriel groaned in frustration. He stared at the engine and frowned. He could feel traces of Balthazar’s energy lingering. ‘What’s wrong with your car?’

Dean growled as he slammed his fists down. ‘I don’t know!’ he yelled. ‘Everything? Nothing? I went to start it this morning, and it’s not working! It’s not the battery, nothin’s wrong with the engine, all the wires are connected…’ He scratched at his head. ‘I have replaced every damn part, and nothing’s working!’

Gabriel backed away. He had a feeling none of the other cars would work. They were stuck. Cas had to have had a clue as to what was going on. And Gabriel could guess what Castiel was up to. When he found his brother, he hugged him.

‘Uh, Gabriel?’ Castiel asked, patting Gabriel’s back.

‘It was nice knowin’ ya,’ bro,’ Gabriel said as he held Castiel at arms’ length. ‘I regret to inform you that I won’t be able to make it to your funeral.’

Castiel grimaced. ‘So, you know?’

Gabriel nodded. ‘Yeah. You are so dead.’

Castiel pulled at his sleeves and looked away. ‘Please don’t say anything…’

Gabriel grinned and made a zipping motion across his lips. ‘Don’t worry. I like watchin’ Dad blow up at you. Fun times. And _this_ time, _I_ can’t get caught in the crossfire!’ he said giddily. ‘Wonder what he’ll do to Anna and Balthy? This is gonna be great! When’s he gonna get here?’

Castiel smiled with his brother. ‘I don’t know…soon.’

.-.-.-.-.

The next day, everyone was gathered at the table for breakfast. Anna and Balthazar were keeping a close eye on Castiel, and Gabriel desperately wanted to see everyone’s  reactions.

Castiel tensed up, and he worriedly stared at his brother. Gabriel caught the look and sucked in a breath. The doorbell rang, and Castiel ducked his head. Gabriel had to bite his lip from grinning, and took to shoving more food in his mouth.

Karen began to stand when Anna held up a hand. ‘I’ve got it,’ she said as she stood and headed towards the front door.

Karen frowned in confusion then looked to Castiel and Gabriel. ‘Is everything alright?’ she asked upon seeing Castiel looking more miserable than ever.

Castiel nodded as faint voices drifted into the kitchen.

‘Cas is gonna get in trouble,’ Gabriel sang.

Balthazar dropped his fork and stared in horror at Castiel. ‘What did you do?!’ he hissed.

‘Castiel!!’

Castiel cringed and slowly stood. ‘What had to be done,’ Castiel replied. ‘He won’t listen otherwise.’

Dean watched the exchange in confusion. ‘Cas, what’s goin’ on?’ he asked as he stood and followed Castiel out of the kitchen.

‘My father is here,’ Castiel replied.

Dean paused and quickly caught up. ‘Your _dad_?! But…how did he…?’

Dean stopped just behind Castiel and stared at the small entourage in the entryway. Anna stared back, wide-eyed and pressed against the wall, trying to be as far away without actually leaving. A shorter, well-dressed, middle-aged man stood in the center of the entry with his arms crossed and glaring at Castiel. The only one that actually seemed comfortable with the situation was a young, dark-haired woman, leaning against the front door.

‘Hello, Father,’ Castiel greeted.

‘Heya, Daddy-o!’ Gabriel added, poking his head out from behind Dean. ‘For the record, I had nothing to do with this! For once.’

Sam came up next to Dean and frowned. ‘But…you’re not an angel,’ he said.

The man’s eyes flashed red and he grinned at Sam. ‘So observant,’ he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.


	12. Chapter 12

‘What the hell?!’ Sam took a step back and noticed that Dean was completely unaffected by the revelation. In fact, his brother was grinning.

‘I knew it!’ Dean said as he stepped forward.

‘Good for you,’ the demon said dismissively. He turned his attention back to Castiel. ‘Remove the trap, and let’s go home.’

‘N-no…’ Castiel placed his hand on the cuff and glared. ‘I couldn’t if I wanted. And I don’t want to.’

‘Castiel, I’m being very patient. Don’t even pretend that damned thing works on you.’

Castiel stared at the floor. ‘Dean fixed it,’ he quietly replied. ‘It works now…’ He raised his arm and tried to tug the cuff off. He winced as a jolt of pain ran up his arm.

‘Really…’ The demon eyed Dean for a moment. ‘You’re a lot smarter than you look,’ he said. He shifted his weight and held a hand out to Dean. ‘Name’s Crowley. How would you like to work for me? The pay’s good.’

‘Don’t sign anything,’ Castiel and Gabriel said simultaneously.

Dean stared at the hand incredulously. ‘Work for a demon? Why the fuck would I work for a _demon_?!’

Crowley let his arm drop with a shrug. ‘Lots of people work for me.’

‘Why is everyone standing out here?’ Karen asked as she came into the entryway, followed by Bobby and Balthazar.

‘Well, I would love to sit somewhere more comfortable, but I seem to be…momentarily incapacitated,’ Crowley replied.

Karen walked past the four boys and up to Crowley. ‘I’m so sorry for their rude behavior! I’ve taught them better,’ she said glaring over her shoulder.

Sam stared on in shock. Why couldn’t Karen sense what Crowley was? And, for that matter, why did the demon’s eyes look human? Was he possessing some poor human? And, if that was the case, why were Castiel and Gabriel perfectly fine with it?

Karen turned back to Crowley and held her hand out in greeting. ‘My name is Karen. You must Gabriel and Castiel’s father. It’s good to meet you!’

Crowley grinned as he shook her hand. He nodded as Karen’s eyes grew wide. ‘Quite the powerful one, you are.’

Karen ripped her hand away and summoned a blade in each hand. ‘How did you get in here?!’ She made to attack the demon, but found Castiel blocking her path. ‘Move out of the way, Castiel!’

Castiel stared sadly at Karen. ‘I can’t let you kill my father.’

Karen looked from Castiel to Crowley and back. ‘I’m not going to kill him, sweetie. I’m just going to detain him,’ she explained. ‘You’re father’s possessed.’

Gabriel laughed loudly and had to cling to Sam for support. ‘That…is the best one ever!’

Even Castiel wore a slight smile.

Karen looked on in confusion. ‘What…?’

‘Not possessed. Just a demon,’ Crowley replied.

Karen inhaled sharply and glared. There was a demon in her house. A demon standing on _her_ rug, in _her_ hallway, in _her_ house!

‘Please, Karen,’ Castiel said, placing a hand on Karen’s arm. ‘He’s in a devil’s trap right now. He poses no threat.’

‘He’s lying, of course,’ Crowley pointed out. ‘I always pose a threat. Just not in the…conventional way.’

Karen huffed and released her blades. ‘Very well. He remains in the devil’s trap, and he is not allowed to have any meals,’ she instructed as she turned on her heel and made her way into the study. Her wings were spread wide in agitation and whacked Dean in the chest as she passed.

Bobby watched Karen leave then went back to glaring at Crowley. ‘You look familiar.’

Crowley tilted his chin up. ‘I run a successful…business and give the occasional interview,’ he replied. ‘I’m assuming you can read…’

Bobby didn’t bat an eye at the obvious baiting. ‘Lemme guess, you buy up small businesses and run ‘em into the ground. Put everyone out of a job.’

Crowley scoffed. ‘As much fun as that would be, I’d make more profit absorbing a little storefront into my company. Treat the employees well, and you have _loyalty_.’ He gave Bobby an even stare. ‘And if they aren’t loyal and run on the side of not quite human, well then… I just introduce them to Cassie.’

Castiel’s wings bristled as he returned to Dean’s side. ‘I don’t appreciate being used,’ he said quietly.

‘Then get it under control,’ Crowley replied without missing a beat. He snapped his fingers at the young woman still leaning against the front door. ‘Meg, be dear and bring in the case.’

Crowley ran his eyes over the three Hunters, evaluating them. ‘I propose a trade,’ he said. ‘My boys’ freedom for some useful items.’

‘What if I don’t _want_ my freedom?’ Gabriel asked, standing as tall as he could.

Crowley rolled his eyes. ‘Well, it’s not up to _you_ , is it?’ He turned his attention to Sam. ‘What do you say, Sasquatch? Trade in your angel for a knife that can kill demons?’

Sam narrowed his eyes at Crowley and placed both hands protectively on Gabriel’s shoulders. ‘I might have the power to release Gabriel, but the choice is up to him. If he wants to stay, then he stays.’

Crowley made a disgusted face. ‘How sentimental.’

Meg returned with a medium-sized metal case. She remained near the entrance. ‘Do you want me to slide this thing over?’ she asked, eying the floor.

Crowley shot her a glare. ‘Anna, bring me the box.’

Anna quickly made her way to Meg and tried to pull the case from her grip.

Meg glared at Anna. ‘You weren’t very nice to Clarence,’ she said quietly. ‘Your usefulness won’t last forever.’ She let go of the case and smirked at Anna.

Anna returned Meg’s glare and brought the case to Crowley. She held it as he opened it and pulled out a gun.

‘How about a gun?’ Crowley offered.

Dean quickly stepped back. ‘You’re gonna shoot us?!’

Crowley scoffed and held the gun out. ‘It’s not loaded. I’m making an offer, you imbecile.’

‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ Dean replied. ‘I can’t believe you think your sons are only worth one lousy gun!’

Castiel, on the other hand, gave his father a small smile. ‘You’re willing to give up the Colt for us?’

Dean looked down at Castiel in shock. ‘Seriously, Cas? You’re worth more than some gun!’

Castiel looked up at Dean. ‘You don’t understand,’ he explained. ‘The Colt can kill _anything_.’

‘Cas—‘

‘ _Anything_ , Dean! Demons, vampires, wedigoes…everything.’

Dean sighed and stared at the ceiling before looking back at Castiel. ‘I don’t care,’ he said carefully. ‘You’re worth more than that to me.’

Castiel blushed lightly at the strong emotions he felt coming from Dean.

Crowley rolled his eyes. ‘Is this a Winchester thing? Because I know for a fact the Campbells weren’t much for sentiment.’

Crowley was met with three confused stares. He tilted his head slightly. He gave a short, disbelieving laugh as he shook his head. ‘You don’t know, do you?’

‘Know what?’ Dean demanded.

Crowley crossed his arms, smirking at Dean. ‘Mommy dearest was a Campbell. Mary Campbell, daughter of Samuel and Deanna Campbell.’

‘Oh! No, you’re mistaken, but I can see where you’d get that,’ Sam said. ‘Our mother was Mary Pickett.’

The knowing smirk never left Crowley’s face. ‘Why don’t you ask your angel?’

Sam looked down at Gabriel, who was shifting nervously. ‘Gabe? What do you know about this?’


	13. Chapter 13

Gabriel bit his lip and looked up at Sam. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Dean was also looking at him in interest. ‘The Campbell family was hunted down,’ he replied with difficulty. He didn’t want Sam to know. Sam was happier not knowing his family history. ‘Everyone thinks it was ‘cuz they were good at their job, but it…it…’

‘Gabriel, tell me what you know about our mother.’

‘She’s dead because she was a Campbell!’ Gabriel wailed. He took a calming breath and continued. ‘Her father’s angel was handed off to her, and he helped her escape. She released him on the condition that he lead the attackers off her trail long enough for her to get a new identity. But it wasn’t good enough… It took a few years, but they found her again, and…well… You know what happened.’ Gabriel stared at his feet.

Sam and Dean stared at each other. They had heard of the Campbells, and how they were hunted down until one branch of the family remained. One final push from a small army of demons and monsters, and none remained. There were rumors that one survived, but everyone had thought it was just a story to tell children. That no matter what, one of the brave Campbells was still out there, fighting to protect humanity. Apparently, there were still a couple Campbells running around, fighting monsters.

Sam looked back at Gabriel and stroked the angel’s hair. ‘How do you know this?’ he asked. If it was just something Gabriel had been told, then it might not be true.

‘My _father_ ,’ Gabriel spat the word out, ‘was that angel.’

All eyes went from Gabriel to Crowley.

Crowley grinned. ‘Gabriel’s mother didn’t agree with how the boy’s real father wanted to raise him, so she took her kid and came to work for me,’ he said. A more sincere smile formed as he recalled how he would receive reports with feathers stapled to them. ‘She was a horrible secretary.’

‘Alright, so Sam and Dean are related to the Campbell family,’ Bobby said as he came closer. ‘I’ll buy that. But what I don’t get is how an angel and a demon got together.’ He gave the demon in question a hard stare. He had never met an angel that didn’t have a bad reaction to a demon.

‘If you’re implying I raped my wife, then you are sorely mistaken,’ Crowley ground out. ‘She came to me because she had heard angels could work for my law firm and be protected from Hunters. She had a small child to raise on her own. She couldn’t afford to be bound to a Hunter.’

‘Mom was hired on as a receptionist at first,’ Gabriel said fondly. ‘But she sucked at answering the phone, so they moved her to secretary. She was better at it, but she…shed. That’s when Dad showed up to have a word with the new angel that couldn’t keep her feathers out of his paperwork.’ He finished with a small grin.

‘She begged me not to fire her, so I threatened to staple her feathers back onto her wings if she couldn’t keep it together,’ Crowley added. ‘A few months later…we became quite close. Nine more months and Castiel graced us with his presence.’

‘Seriously?’ Dean asked. ‘Not the most romantic pick up line there, buddy.’

Crowley sighed in irritation. ‘The specifics of my office romance don’t necessarily concern you.’

‘Mom hid all the staplers and kept stapling her feathers to Dad’s stuff!’ Gabriel said gleefully as Crowley sneered. ‘She was really careful to make sure it was _just_ his stuff, too.’

Crowley shook his head in disgust. ‘Yes, yes. We were the talk of the company.’

‘So, there’s no staplers, and Dad’s determined to carry out his threat, so he grabs the tape dispenser,’ Gabriel said, in full gossip mode. ‘And he tapes mom’s feathers to her wings. Like, really badly. I had to help her get the tape out when she got home. But she kept doing it every day, and he keeps taping them back on. And uh…I guess Mom got more flirty about it, and Dad took longer to tape…er… Mom started coming home with less tape…and very happy.’ Gabriel was blushing as he thought about his mother and adoptive father flirting and later fucking. He still refused to enter the supply closet on the floor that his father’s office was on.

‘That is…romantic!’ Karen said as she came back into the entry. Her eyes were watery and she had her hands clasped in front of her chest. ‘You should stay for dinner.’

Crowley gave her a doubtful stare.

‘You’ll have to be in a devil’s trap of course,’ she added.

Crowley nodded. ‘Of course.’ He knew there had to be a catch to her sudden change in opinion. ‘Unfortunately, I won’t be staying that long. And neither with Gabriel and Castiel.’

Gabriel groaned in frustration. ‘I don’t wanna leave!’ he reiterated. ‘I’m happy here. With Sam! I…I love him!’

Crowley stared at Gabriel in shock. He looked to Sam. ‘No, he doesn’t,’ he quickly said. ‘Ask him. It’s not true.’

Gabriel’s heart beat faster. His eyes never left Crowley’s. ‘Ask me, Sam.’

Sam looked lost. ‘Do…do you love me?’ he asked. He was almost afraid of the answer. There was the possibility that Gabriel only thought he loved Sam, but if he really did love Sam… He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the angel. He knew he cared deeply for Gabriel, but he didn’t know if he actually loved him yet.

‘I love you, Sam Winchester,’ Gabriel said with a steady voice as he looked up at Sam. He smiled warmly at his Hunter. ‘And I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. Dean on the other hand…’

Crowley looked from Gabriel to Castiel. ‘Not you, too?’

Castiel pulled his wings in tight at the sudden attention. ‘I…I don’t know,’ he replied helplessly. He felt a pang of hurt come from Dean. He ducked his head and pulled at his sleeve. ‘I’m sorry…’

Dean wrapped his arm around Castiel and pulled him close. He glared at Crowley. ‘What’s it to you, anyway?’

Crowley sighed as he shook his head. Maybe he _should_ have loaded the gun. He looked back up as Castiel addressed him.

‘F-Father…I… I want to stay. I…understand the danger,’ Castiel said quietly, leaning into Dean. ‘Besides, I’m a threat all on my own.’

Crowley huffed and looked away. ‘No, you can’t—Castiel, they _know_!’ he shouted, pointing to the door with the gun. ‘We are on lockdown right now!’

Castiel stiffened as he sucked in a breath.

‘Cas?’ Dean looked down at Castiel. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

Castiel’s breaths came quickly as he hugged himself. Through his distraction, he didn’t even fight the cuff’s pull. ‘They know! They know about me, and they’re gonna come after me.’

Dean turned Castiel to face him. ‘Who?’

Castiel looked up at Dean, tears forming. ‘Lucifer… Or Michael. Both… I don’t know…’

‘Both,’ Crowley quietly confirmed. ‘They each have so many spies…if one knows, you can count on the other knowing.’

‘I have to go!’ Castiel cried. He hugged Dean tightly as the lights softly flickered. ‘I’m sorry!’

Crowley smirked as he felt the devil’s trap vanish. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. ‘We’ll be leaving now,’ he said to Dean. ‘Coming, Gabriel?’

Gabriel looked around frantically. ‘N-no,’ he whispered. He reached out to Castiel, pleading for him to stay. ‘W-what’s the point of leaving? Sam and Dean are the last of the Campbells…and Cas is a halfbreed…,’ he winced as Castiel flinched at the word, ‘so…what’s the point?’

‘It’s safer at home,’ Crowley replied.

‘You don’t know that!’ Gabriel argued. ‘If they found out about Cas, then they can get in! It’s not safe _anywhere_ , so we might as well stay here! At least…at least we’re _happy_ here!’

Castiel looked at his brother. He wanted to stay with Dean, but…he was a threat. There may be no accidental deaths because of him now, but the cuff’s magic wouldn’t save Dean and his family from Lucifer.

‘C’mon, Dad! We can hole up here,’ Gabriel pleaded. ‘Get a few of your more trusted minions to play guard… We’ll lay low.’

Crowley crossed his arms and turned away. ‘No. It’s not safe.’

‘Um…’

All eyes turned to Karen, and she puffed her wings slightly. ‘We’ve never had a problem until you. And, yes, I should have kept a closer eye on those two,’ she said, indicating Anna and Balthazar. ‘But I did a sweep of the property after finding out about you, and the only tampering that’s been done has been on the main path leadin’ up to here. My home _is_ safe.’

Crowley regarded Karen. He tilted his head slightly. ‘It’s not safe against angels.’

Karen frowned and looked to Bobby for help. ‘Angels?’

‘Lucifer and Michael are angels,’ Gabriel explained. ‘Archangels.’

‘So if we angel-proofed the place, would you let Cas and Gabe stay?’ Dean asked. He had his hand resting on one of Castiel’s wings, lightly scratching it.

Crowley frowned at Dean’s hand. ‘That would depend on your intentions with my son,’ he replied, staring pointedly at Dean’s hand.

Dean pulled Castiel to him, placing the angel’s back against his chest. ‘Whatever Cas wants.’

‘Please, Dad?’ Gabriel begged.

Crowley looked to Castiel and raised his brow in question.

Castiel reluctantly looked up. ‘I…I would…’ He swallowed and bit his lip. ‘I would like to stay with Dean. If he…if everyone understands what it means…the threat…then…yes. I want to stay.’

Crowley glared up at Dean.

Dean nodded.

Crowley’s eyes shifted to Sam, who nodded curtly in response. His gaze fell upon Bobby and Karen. ‘Well? It has to be unanimous, and understand this: you _will_ be attacked on all sides by demon _and_ angel alike.’

Karen breathed deeply. She took Bobby’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

‘We understand,’ Bobby answered.

Crowley nodded solemnly as he turned away. ‘Anna, replace the devil’s traps along the perimeter,’ he ordered. ‘Meg, you set about placing wards against angels. And don’t lock Anna out.’

Meg rolled her eyes as she nodded.

‘And me?’ Balthazar asked.

‘Hex bags, warding…anything to keep us hidden, but nothing conspicuous.’ Crowley turned to face the small group of Hunters and angels. ‘Now, then. Where’s my room?’


	14. Chapter 14

Karen viciously stabbed at a potato. There was a demon in _her_ house, staying under _her_ roof, eating _her_ food, and sleeping on her _linens_! And not just one. Oh, no. There were _two_ of them. She took a calming breath and stared at the unfortunate potato.

‘Hey, Karen…uh…’ Dean cautiously approached Karen.

Karen turned to face Dean, a bright smile on her face. ‘What is it, sweetie?’

Dean eyed the knife in Karen’s hand. ‘Er…I was gonna ask what was for dinner, but uh… I think I’ll just go find Cas…’

Karen followed Dean’s gaze to the knife and her white-knuckled grip. She quickly set it on the counter. ‘Here, how about you help me?’ she offered as she pulled out a bowl and filled it with water. ‘Meatloaf, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. You can cut the potatoes!’

Dean’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He just wanted to know what was for dinner. He wasn’t ready for a heart-to-heart with Karen. He picked up the knife and set about cutting. ‘Sorry…about all this…’

Karen gave Dean a smile and a shrug. ‘You didn’t know. _I_ didn’t even know. About Castiel, that is,’ she said. ‘I could feel he was different, but… I never would have thought…’ She shook her head as she pulled out the ingredients she would need.

Dean let out a quiet laugh. ‘Yeah… I didn’t find out until the other day. It just…hit me. Looking at his wings…I just… It was like looking at some…dark angel or something, and it just clicked. So, I was able to fix the cuff.’

Karen frowned and looked at Dean. ‘Fix…? Dean, what was wrong with the binding cuff?’ she asked.

‘Er…’ Dean swallowed self-consciously and gave Karen an uncertain smile. ‘It uh…didn’t work that well,’ he replied. ‘S-sorry I didn’t say anything. I just…I didn’t want you guys to have an excuse to make him leave. And I didn’t want you to worry.’

Karen sighed as she shook her head. ‘We wouldn’t make him leave, and you know that.’ She rolled some breadcrumbs between her fingers, thinking. ‘If you don’t mind my asking…how did it not work? You said you were feeling each other’s thoughts, but…that couldn’t be what was wrong.’

‘Yeah… It was weird,’ Dean eventually replied. ‘I guess…he could ignore orders, and he could lie when asked a direct question. He said he could feel the pull of the spell, but he didn’t have to pay attention to it.’

‘And the cuff didn’t fall off?’ Karen asked, confused.

Dean stared at Karen. ‘Fall off? No, he… He took it off himself a while ago, but it never fell off. Um, why?’

‘The cuff falls off if the connection’s not strong enough,’ Karen explained as she turned back to the pile of breadcrumbs.

‘What?! I’ve never heard of that!’

Karen laughed as she set about mixing ingredients. ‘Of course not,’ she replied. ‘Angels refuse to tell Hunters that there’s more to it than just a little binding spell, and a Hunter that loses an angel won’t tell anyone out of embarrassment.’ She looked up at Dean and grinned. ‘Bobby wasn’t my first Hunter.’

Dean stared at her, dumbfound. ‘W-what…?’

‘You know how he found me at the theatre in town?’ At Dean’s nod, she continued. ‘I was there _looking_ for a Hunter. My first Hunter was a jerk. Not just to me. To everyone. I acted out. Fought the pull. Before that first week was up, the cuff cracked and fell off.’

‘So…that’s what was up with Gabriel at the beginning.’

Karen nodded. ‘He was testing the bond. Anything to make Sam snap at him, order him to stop…’ She smiled to herself as she cracked a couple eggs. ‘I burned the house down during my first week with Bobby,’ she admitted. ‘We stood outside, staring at the smoking remains… I hadn’t meant to burn it down. I _meant_ to cook the most god-awful pot pie, but I didn’t know anything about cooking!’

Dean quietly cut the potatoes, listening to Karen. He couldn’t begin to imagine Karen not being able to cook.

‘And Bobby… Bobby just laughed,’ she said. ‘We managed to save the more important books, but everything else? Gone. I was cryin’, helpless as could be, wailing on about how I just wanted to cook a bad pie!’ She laughed, and her wings spread out, making Dean duck. ‘The next day, Bobby got me five cookbooks. Said I should learn to cook good before tryin’ to cook bad.’

‘I don’t get it.’

Karen smiled up at Dean. ‘He _forgave_ me. He was willin’ to make it work. To him, _I_ was more important than the house. Not as an angel, but as a person. He only went in for the books after he knew I was safe.’

‘So…you’re sayin’ that…’ Dean trailed off, staring at the potatoes. ‘I have no idea what you’re sayin’.’

‘The link demands more than just obedience in order to work,’ Karen patiently explained. ‘You have to _care_ about Castiel. There’s something in the spell to protect us angels from those who would abuse it.’

Dean nodded. ‘Oh, yeah! _That_ I saw. I just didn’t get what it did, exactly.’

Karen stared at Dean. ‘You… What do you mean?’

‘I’ve been researching these damn binding cuffs and their spells for a week!’ Dean replied. He scooped up some potato chunks and set them in the bowl of water. ‘I know way too much about the spells that go into them.’ He shrugged as he started on another potato. ‘But…it helped with coming up with a new spell.’

‘A new spell… You mean for Castiel’s demon side?’

‘Yeah… I essentially put a devil’s trap on the other side of the cuff, but, y’know…with bits of the original spell tacked on.’

Karen stared ahead at the wall, pausing from kneading the meatloaf. She never thought Dean would be able to come up with something like that on his own. Or anyone. No Hunter had ever attempted to change the spellwork. She looked back at Dean, clearly impressed. ‘The cuffs haven’t been changed in centuries!’

Dean slumped forward a little. ‘Tell me about it!’ He jabbed at the potato a little more harshly than he should have. ‘And there’s almost no information on it, either! I had to dissect the damn spells myself. I can’t believe no one’s ever tried changing it before.’

Karen shrugged and moved to the sink to clean her hands. ‘If it ain’t broke… But…yeah, I can see what you mean. It…’ She glanced over at Dean and bit her lip. ‘It’d be nice to have the connection, but not the compulsion,’ she quietly admitted. ‘Bobby’s real careful, and he takes it back when he does slip up, but…I wish he didn’t have to.’

‘So…what Cas and I had before I…fixed it.’ Dean stared at the knife in his hand. He never thought about it from the angel’s perspective.

Karen laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. ‘But you changed it,’ she said. ‘You made it work on an angel with demon blood! Imagine what you could do to lessen the original spell. Make it so we have a _choice_!’

Dean stared down at Karen, shocked. ‘I…I didn’t know you felt that way…’

Karen quickly looked away. ‘I… Don’t go gettin’ the wrong idea. I’m happy. I love Bobby so much, and…we’re good an’ happy together. I mean… Bobby and I…we’re married, but…I wish I could wear a ring instead of this,’ she said as she raised her wrist, showing off the tarnished cuff. ‘It’s beautiful on its own, but…it’s more a mark of ownership than of partnership.’

‘And he can’t release you, ‘cuz another Hunter would take a go.’

Karen nodded. ‘You…you and Sam are such bright boys… If anyone could change things…I think the two of you would be the ones to do it.’

Dean sucked in a breath. ‘C-change things? Us?’ he weakly asked.

Karen smiled at him and glanced over his shoulder to the doorway. ‘Why don’t you and Castiel help his father get settled? I’ll finish up in here.’

Dean looked over his shoulder to find Castiel hovering just behind the doorframe. ‘Hey, Cas…’

Castiel bit his lip as he waited for Dean. ‘I need somewhere to hide,’ he said. ‘And not the panic room.’

Dean could feel the urgency wafting off of Castiel. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Father’s asking questions.’

Dean raised his brow. ‘Okay…’

Castiel looked down at the floor, blushing. ‘ _Sexual_ questions.’

Dean couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that surfaced. ‘Like what?’ he asked, grinning. This was a good change in pace. Nowhere near as heavy as his previous conversation. He could talk to Sam about it later once he’d wrapped his head around it.

Castiel made a distressed tone, and his wings fluttered. ‘L-like _sex_. Penetration. He’s asking if we’re using protection!’

Dean laughed and leaned against the wall for support. ‘You told him we haven’t done that much yet, right?’

‘Yes! He doesn’t believe me!’ Castiel cried out. He straightened and glared as Dean broke out into a new fit of laughter. He stamped his foot and the light above them burst. ‘Dean!’

The popping of the bulb calmed Dean slightly, and he grinned at Castiel. ‘That’s just…wow! I’m sorry, Cas, but… That’s priceless!’ He roughly wrapped an arm around the angel’s shoulders and guided him toward the stairs. ‘Tell ya’ what, we’ll hole up in my room.’

‘No, I’ll be cornered!’ Castiel replied. ‘That’s why the panic room won’t work. He’ll have me cornered, and he’ll start interrogating me again!’

‘Heya, Clarence.’

Castiel stared at the stairs in dismay. Meg sat in the middle of them, effectively blocking the way. He felt Dean stiffen next to him and hint of distrust from the Hunter. ‘Meg.’

‘Don’t worry, Dean,’ Meg said. ‘I’m not after your boyfriend.’ She turned her attention back to Castiel. ‘I see my advice worked.’

Castiel shifted uncomfortably. ‘ _Your_ advice yielded better results,’ he replied.

‘What advice?’ Dean asked, confused.

Castiel growled in frustration at the cuff’s tug. ‘Advice on flirting,’ he quietly snapped.

‘Oh, shit. I’m sorry!’ Dean said, backing away from Castiel.

Meg giggled from her spot on the stairs. ‘I told him he should show an interest in what you like. Ask questions,’ she added.

Castiel could feel his cheeks burning. ‘Yes, you were very helpful.’

Meg stood and approached Castiel. She reached up and ruffled his hair. ‘C’mon, don’t be like that.’ She leaned in despite the glare she received from Dean. ‘Why don’t you just jump him?’ she asked quietly.

Castiel squeaked and looked at Dean. ‘Um…’

‘Let him groom your wings,’ she whispered into his ear. ‘That’s your fantasy, right? Do it. He’ll _love_ it.’ She backed away and gave Castiel a wink before walking off.

Castiel could feel confusion through the link and could only imagine what Dean was feeling from him. ‘All right… L-let’s hide in your room,’ he stuttered. He started up the stairs and looked behind when he noticed Dean wasn’t following.

Dean stared up at Castiel. He wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling from the angel. Embarrassment, uncertainty, lust…a large helping of lust. What did Meg say to Castiel?

Castiel breathed deeply and slowly extended his wings, drawing Dean’s attention to them. ‘W-would you like to…uh…groom them?’

‘Yes!’ Dean blushed lightly at his outburst and rubbed at his neck. ‘Er…yeah. That sounds…fun?’


	15. Chapter 15

Everyone was actively avoiding Crowley, so he took the privacy as his chance to wander the house. He ended up in the living room, and his eyes swept over it, taking in every little detail. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a large desk sat in front of the fireplace. He sneered at the ugly, frayed couch and small television that also occupied the room.

He walked over to the desk and began opening drawers, rummaging through them. He pulled out an old journal and flipped through it. From the entries, he gathered it belonged to John Winchester. A throat cleared, and he looked up, not at all embarrassed at being caught. ‘Yes?’ he said as he went back to reading the journal.

Bobby glared at the demon. ‘What do you think yer doin’?’

‘Reading.’

Bobby stalked up to Crowley and snatched the book away.

Crowley gave a bored sigh and raised a brow at Bobby. ‘Was that really necessary?’

Bobby shoved the journal back into the desk drawer and slammed it shut. ‘You wanna read somethin’, you ask first,’ he said as he crossed his arms.

Crowley rolled his eyes and made to turn away, set on finding entertainment elsewhere.

‘Why ain’t yer eyes solid?’ Bobby asked.

Crowley looked back up at Bobby. He blinked, flashing dark red eyes at the Hunter. He grinned at the sudden intake of air. Another blink, and his eyes looked normal once more. ‘Did you really think we wouldn’t learn to hide?’ he asked. ‘First thing you learn as a demon. Don’t get it or can’t control it? Well, that’s natural selection.’

Bobby looked away briefly. He had killed his fair share of demons over the years, and none of them had presented themselves as calmly as the shorter man that stood before him. He had to keep reminding himself that the man was a demon. ‘I take it “natural selection” applies to the crazies, too?’ he said.

Crowley grimaced. ‘There are a few that can’t control their…urges,’ he admitted.

‘ _Urges_?’ Bobby scoffed. ‘You’re all a bunch of fuckin’ evil bastards!’

‘And humans aren’t?’ Crowley countered. ‘We were born from your race. Humans are just as capable of evil as demons. More so, I should think. Your lot knows better.’

‘And _you_ don’t?!’

Crowley shrugged. He didn’t want Bobby to know so much, but he needed the Hunter on his side. He leaned against the desk, deciding how much he should reveal. ‘I understand the _concept_ of right and wrong. I just don’t really care,’ he eventually said. ‘It’s the same with angels. You must have noticed.’

Bobby frowned. Karen cared deeply about him and the boys. But, when it came to all others, she lacked any sort of emotional connection. He had caught her sighing and staring into space on several occasions when they would have to speak to the families of victims. Gabriel would laugh maniacally at tragic news reports, but the moment Sam would misplace something or stub a toe, Gabriel was right there, acting as if the world had come to an end.

‘Good example: I want to kill Sam and Dean for taking my boys. Slowly torture them, make them beg for death. I want to slice that fat gut of yours and watch your intestines spill to the floor because you’re housing those two,’ Crowley said, ignoring Bobby’s indignant squawk. ‘The only thing that’s stopping me is that I’d rather have you on my side.’

‘On your side?! After you tell me that?!’ Bobby shouted incredulously.

‘Well, yes,’ Crowley replied as he nodded. ‘See, it would do me no good to kill off a small family of Hunters. That grabs attention. I don’t need that sort of attention. I need allies, not vengeful Hunters breathing down my neck.’

‘Yer not very good at makin’ allies,’ Bobby growled.

‘Oh, but I am,’ Crowley responded with a smile. ‘I could kill those two boys with no problem, and be lauded a hero. Last of Campbells. Dead, and I’m responsible.’ He pushed off the desk and took a step back as Bobby began to advance on him. ‘I’d make plenty of new friends that way, but I don’t want those sort of allies.’

Bobby paused, staring at Crowley in confusion. ‘Then what sort of _allies_ are ya’ lookin’ for?’

‘The sort that keep my boys _safe_. I have my priorities, and they are my _top priority_ ,’ Crowley said.

Bobby stared at the demon. It all clicked together. Karen, Gabriel, Castiel, even Crowley. ‘It’s family. That’s all you care about.’

‘What?’

‘Demons and angels. You don’t care what it takes, who you have to take out,’ Bobby said, ‘as long as they’re taken care of.’

Crowley sucked in a breath. He hadn’t been counting on Bobby being smarter than he looked. These Hunters were too full of surprises. He turned and quickly left the room, not knowing what else he could do. He passed Meg in the hallway, looking entirely too smug for her own good. He grabbed her arm and narrowed his eyes at her.

‘And what’s got you in such a good mood?’ he asked.

Meg’s eyes went black as she held Crowley’s gaze. ‘If you think _I’m_ in a good mood, you should see Castiel,’ she replied.

Crowley released his hold. ‘And what are your thoughts on Dean?’

‘He likes Castiel,’ she replied. ‘He apologized for asking Cas a question. Never seen a Hunter do that before.’

Crowley nodded and waved her away. ‘Don’t answer any of the older Hunter’s questions. Or anyone’s questions, for that matter.’

Meg grinned knowingly at Crowley. She hurried away as he rounded on her.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel sat at the foot of Dean’s bed. He waited patiently while Dean drew a few symbols onto the door in chalk.

Dean turned around, tossing the chalk onto a nearby dresser. He dusted off his hands and grinned at Castiel. ‘That should keep out any demons or angels,’ he said.

Castiel nodded as he frowned at the symbols on the door. ‘And keep _me_ in,’ he pointed out.

Dean crawled onto bed and positioned himself just behind Castiel. ‘You could always jump out the window,’ he replied before slowly running his hands over the black wings. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Casitel’s neck. ‘But do you really want to jump out the window?’

‘Sometimes,’ Castiel answered, then ducked his head as he realized what he had just said. ‘Er, I mean…’ He buried his head in his hands and groaned in frustration. He gasped and arched his back, forgetting his embarrassment, as Dean ran fingers down his spine.

Dean chuckled. ‘Don’t worry. I get it,’ he said. ‘Gabriel jumped off the roof a few times to see if he could fly.’

‘We can’t,’ Castiel moaned as Dean reached around to stroke the undersides of his wings.

‘Cas?’

‘Mm?’

‘I don’t care.’

Castiel sighed happily as he leaned into Dean’s touch. He was pulled back to reality as he felt confusion flitting along the cuff’s connection. ‘What’s wrong?’

Dean frowned at Castiel’s back and tugged at Castiel’s jacket. ‘I give up,’ he said. ‘How the fuck do I get this off you?’

‘Oh!’ One thought, and he was naked from the waist up. He looked over his shoulder and gave a cheeky grin when Dean gasped. ‘Is that better?’

Dean surged forward and ran his tongue between Castiel’s wings, giving his answer.

‘Ah!’ Black wings suddenly stretched out, shedding a few feathers. Castiel moaned as Dean stroked his feathers and kissed at his neck. He was a panting mess when Dean slowly guided him further back on the bed. He turned and caught Dean’s lips with his own. He straddled Dean’s lap as he pulled at Dean’s shirt.

Dean twisted as Castiel pulled at his clothes. He tried not to break the kiss as the young angel attempted to push his shirt over his head. He broke away long enough to pull his t-shirt off and toss it into a corner. He stared at Castiel and was rewarded with a sharp pulse of need. He smirked as Castiel’s wings splayed out, showing off every feather. He reached up, lacing his fingers through Castiel’s hair, and pulled him down for another kiss.

Castiel was having a lot of trouble thinking straight. Everything was so bright and vivid. So intense. So much better than any dream. Better than anything he had ever felt. He was drunk off of Dean’s lust for him, and he was feeling lightheaded. He was uncertain where his thoughts ended and Dean’s began. He just wanted more of the Hunter. Wanted to hear him cry out in ecstasy.

Dean gasped as he was he pushed back. He blinked in confusion as his brain processed what he was seeing. Castiel’s eyes were glowing brightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Castiel quickly dipped down. Dean grunted as the angel rolled his hips back and along Dean’s throbbing erection. He grabbed at Castiel, but soon found his wrists being held tightly. He tried to move them, but Castiel held them firmly in place on either side of Dean’s head.

Dean stared at Castiel dazedly. Castiel’s eyes were still glowing as he grinned down at the Hunter. Dean had a confused frown, but lost his train of thought as Castiel ground into him again. He arched his back and bucked against the angel, trying to gain some more friction. He cried out as he felt a hot mouth settle on his throat. Teeth nipped at his skin. A trail of sucks, kisses, and soft bites made its way down to his collar bone where he felt a particularly hard bite. He gasped as he wondered if Castiel had broken the skin.

Dean moaned as Castiel worked his way back up and settled over his pulse. He writhed and gasped as Castiel sucked, and Dean knew for certain there would be dark spot when the angel finished. He felt a small thrill at the thought. His angel was marking him for all the world to see. There would be no doubt as to what they had gotten up to. He desperately wanted to return the favor. Let everyone know that for as much he was Castiel’s Hunter, Castiel was his angel.

He could see Castiel’s wings hovering just above him. Just out of reach. He tried to pull out of Castiel’s grip, but the small angel was much stronger than he looked. ‘Cas…wanna touch you…lemme…lemme touch you,’ he moaned needily.

Dean pulled at his wrists again and let out a strangled cry as one of his nipples was relentlessly attacked. ‘Oh, fuck!! Yes, God! Cas, please!’ He squirmed and bucked, but Castiel held him in place. ‘Please, Castiel, please. I wanna touch you. Lemme touch you!’ he begged.

Above Dean, Castiel stilled.

Dean tugged at his wrists, but found them still held firmly. He felt soft tremors coming from Castiel. He looked up to find Castiel leaning over him, shaking and breathing raggedly. He flinched as a drop of blood landed on his cheek.

‘C-Cas?’ Dean’s voice wavered as he spoke. He searched Castiel’s eyes, feeling a small bit of relief as they began to dim.

Castiel’s eyes focused on Dean. He stared at the blood on Dean’s face and wondered where it had come from. He felt…odd. A second drop of blood joined the first, and realization hit Castiel. He quickly let go of Dean and felt the relief of the cuff wash over him. He jumped off the bed and attempted to run out of the room. He couldn’t get very close to the door, so he backed into a corner, where he promptly hid himself in his wings.

‘I’m sorry!’ he sobbed. He sank to the floor, shaking.

Dean stared Castiel. He slowly got off the bed and carefully approached Castiel, keeping himself between the angel and the window. He sat on the floor and gently ran his hand over Castiel’s wings. ‘It’s okay,’ he said soothingly. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. It was all good. I…I’m sorry I ruined the mood.’

‘I fought it! I shouldn’t have fought it!’ Castiel cried as he shook his head. He allowed Dean to pull his wings aside. He sniffed as fingers lightly ran through his hair.

‘You were just really into it. Havin’ fun,’ Dean said. ‘I liked it.’

 Castiel looked up. He stared into Dean’s eyes and found nothing but honesty there. His gazed drifted downward to the deep red mark on Dean’s neck, and he blushed. ‘Y-you did?’

Dean grinned and nodded. ‘Yeah. You looked so hot holding me down,’ he said huskily before leaning forward to give Castiel a kiss. ‘Here… First thing tomorrow, I’ll make you a new cuff. Just like it used to be.’

Castiel breathed in sharply. ‘You…you mean it? But…’

‘And tonight, we can just take this off,’ he said as he laid his hand on Castiel’s cuff.

‘W-what?’

‘We’ll take it off and have a little fun,’ he said and kissed Castiel again.

‘B-but…’

‘Just…’ Dean sighed and looked away in uncertainty. ‘I’m hoping you’ll stay…’

Castiel hesitantly reached up and cupped Dean’s cheek. He nodded when Dean looked at him. ‘I’ll stay,’ he promised.

‘Tonight…no cuff, no bond…just you and me.’ Dean laughed as Castiel threw himself forward and they fell to the floor. ‘So, I guess this means you’re a demon in the sack!’

‘Shut up, Dean.’


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picked out a name for Gabe and Cas's mom. 'Only angel with a feminine name' –Wikipedia.

Gabriel had summoned a large table for everyone to sit at for dinner. Karen and Crowley sat on either end. To Crowley’s right sat Castiel, followed by Gabriel, Sam, and Dean. Dean had tried to convince Gabriel to switch, but was shot down by a menacing glare from Crowley. From Karen it continued to Bobby, Balthazar, Anna, and Meg. Neither of the latter were particularly thrilled with the other. Meg and Anna forced smiles after being told to play nice by both Karen and Crowley.

Bobby and Crowley made it a point to not look at each other—not that Crowley had to try, his eyes were glued to the light, red mark on Dean’s neck.  He desperately wanted to reach over the table and carve the mark off with a fork, but, aside from such actions not being proper dinner table etiquette, he and Meg were stuck in a devil’s trap at their corner of the table.

Out of the group, Balthazar was the most talkative, refusing to let them eat in silence. He kept the conversation light and mostly focused on complimenting Karen’s ability to cook.

Dean kept receiving confused images of meatloaf and hamburgers and had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. He focused his own thoughts and tried to explain the difference.

‘Giraffe?’ Castiel said, shooting Dean a confused look.

Dean leaned forward to look at Castiel, but Crowley caught his gaze instead.

Crowley pointed his fork at Dean. ‘If Gabriel and Castiel are not permitted to have private conversations during dinner, then neither are you,’ he calmly stated before turning his attention to Castiel. ‘And _you_ , stop encouraging him.’

Castiel ducked his head and nodded, blushing lightly as he poked at his food.

Bobby cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. ‘So, what can we expect from Lucifer and Michael? I get that they’re angels, but do you know what they’re gonna try?’ he asked.

Crowley sighed and tapped his fork lightly against his plate. ‘Well…Michael is a self-righteous prick,’ he replied. ‘He thinks he’s doing the “right thing.” Free all the angels, kill all the demons… To him, humans are inconsequential.’

‘And he gets pissed off about _everything_ ,’ Gabriel added.

‘And he doesn’t like to be turned down,’ Castiel said.

‘He has control issues. Nothing I did was ever good enough. He’d always harp on about how I needed to learn to focus my power more and contribute to the fight,’ Gabriel said as he helped himself to another serving of potatoes. ‘He kept harassing Mom about me. Said she was a shitty parent for raising me around demons.’

‘He still tries to maintain contact with Gabriel,’ Crowley said in irritation. ‘Even Lucifer is trying to recruit him. And now that Castiel’s existence is known…’ He trailed off, shaking his head.

‘They’ll be tryin’ to get him to join as well,’ Bobby said.

‘If we’re lucky,’ Crowley scoffed.

‘We believe Lucifer will want me on his side,’ Castiel clarified. ‘Michael, however, will call for my death.’

‘What?!’ Karen cried out.

‘Why?!’ Dean shouted at the same time.

Castiel bit at his lip and stared at his lap. ‘I’m…unnatural,’ he quietly replied.

‘You’re not unnatural,’ Dean quickly stated. ‘So, don’t say it. You’re just different.’

Crowley regarded Dean for a moment before speaking. ‘There has never been a demon-angel hybrid. There have been rumors that Lucifer and his followers were attempting to breed one, but with no luck.’

‘Then how did you and…?’ Karen trailed off, glancing at Castiel and waving her hand in the air in a vague motion.

‘I don’t know,’ Crowley admitted with a shrug. ‘Castiel’s birth shouldn’t have been possible.’

‘Mom said it was the power of love!’ Gabriel said around a mouth full of food.

Crowley rolled his eyes in disgust. ‘Ever the romantic.’

‘Where is she now?’ Bobby quietly asked, having already guessed the answer.

‘Dead,’ Crowley replied with a sigh. ‘Fifteen years now.’

‘How?’ Karen asked. Her wings sagged at the thought of Castiel and Gabriel losing their mother so young.

Crowley tilted his head back as he watched Karen’s wings. The more he observed of the Hunters and their domesticated angel, the more he had to admit that his boys had lucked out. They certainly could have done much worse.

‘Lucifer’s forces knew she was Michael’s main squeeze, so they targeted her,’ he replied. ‘We have the offices and a few buildings full of apartments, each warded against specific creatures. They caught her when she left the main building… They tortured her and killed her.’ He sighed as he shook his head. ‘I was too late. Lucifer’s not a demon, so…at least the torture was minimal.’

He glanced at Gabriel and Castiel, who each had a wing tucked against the other. ‘But, had it been prolonged, she might still be alive.’

‘Lucifer wanted to send a message to Michael,’ Castiel said, voice barely above a whisper. ‘He knew nothing of Father’s relationship with Mother.’

‘At least, not until Dad flipped out,’ Gabriel added.

‘I did not “flip out,”’ Crowley growled, flashing red eyes at Gabriel.

‘Of course not,’ Meg said, nodding in agreement. ‘Dismemberment isn’t flipping out.’ She gasped and winced as she felt Crowley’s power settle over her, restricting her air supply. ‘I mean it! I’d be dead if you weren’t in control!’ She rubbed at her throat when she was released.

‘You _should_ be dead!’ Anna shouted. ‘You switched sides once. Who’s to say you won’t do it again when it’s convenient? Once a traitor, always a traitor!’

‘I’m not!’ Meg shouted back. She grabbed her knife and made to attack Anna, but was met with resistance from the devil’s trap. She growled in frustration and tossed the knife back onto the table.

‘She’s not,’ Castiel agreed, looking up to meet Anna’s eyes.

‘How do _you_ know?’ Dean asked.

Castiel sucked in a breath. ‘She… There’s no ill-intent. If Meg…’

‘I’d be dead the moment I touched Cas,’ Meg said, crossing her arms, trying to ignore Anna’s smug aura.

Castiel nodded. ‘I’m prone to having accidents with those who are evil or wish me to suffer,’ he said. He looked to Dean and gave a shy, uncertain smile. ‘Remember? I explained it…albeit not very well…’

‘Shouldn’t that be _all_ demons, then?’ Sam asked with a frown. He winced at the glared he received from Crowley and Meg.

‘You’d think so, but angels are just as susceptible to Cas’s mood swings,’ Balthazar said lightly. He groaned in delight as he took another bite of meatloaf.

‘What?!’ Gabriel stared at Castiel in shock. ‘You…you never told me that!’

Castiel shank away and he pulled his wings around himself. ‘Lenore was…unkind.’

Gabriel blinked and pulled a face as he tried to remember an angel named Lenore. His mind supplied him with a kind, old low angel that always smiled at him and gave him licorice. He frowned as he remembered when Crowley announced that she had been relocated. It was about the same time that Castiel’s right wing had been broken. For months, there had been a good chunk of missing feathers.

He shot up and slammed his hands on the table. ‘That fucking bitch! _She’s_ the one that fucked up your wing! You…you _lied_ to me!’ He stared down at Castiel in betrayal.

‘I didn’t want you to worry…,’ Castiel whispered as he hugged himself.

‘Cas, you—!’ Gabriel grabbed Castiel and pressed their foreheads together, drawing a small gasp from his brother.

The three Hunters at the table looked around in confusion as the angels and demons went about eating as if nothing had happened. Even Karen was calmly slicing more meatloaf.

Sam jumped when Gabriel released Castiel and slammed his fist on the table. ‘Gabriel?’

Gabriel looked around the table at the Hunters staring at him curiously. He looked back at Castiel and received a sad shrug. He shook his head and sighed. He had seen a lot more than just Castiel’s confrontation with Lenore. ‘I…I don’t know what to make of this.’

‘First retaliatory death,’ Crowley said as he picked up his glass. ‘It’s something that should be celebrated. So, we celebrated.’

Gabriel frowned at Crowley and his eyes narrowed. ‘The fucking cake.’

Karen clapped her hands together in realization. ‘Oh! Like a breakthrough!’

‘Right,’ Crowley replied with a nod. ‘However, we demons usually discover our power under…less fortunate circumstances.’

Karen gave Castiel an apologetic grimace.

‘How old were you?’ Bobby asked.

‘Six.’

‘I can’t believe Mom made you a cake for that!’ Gabriel shouted in frustration before storming out the room.

Sam watched Gabriel leave, not sure whether or not he should follow.

‘That _is_ kinda weird,’ Dean commented.

Castiel shifted uncomfortably at the images Dean was sending him. Cakes declaring ‘Congrats on the killing!’ littered his mind. ‘He’s just upset that Mother made a cake when I hadn’t actually had a breakthrough.’

‘He _still_ hasn’t!’ Gabriel shouted from the hallway.

Castiel ducked his head and hugged himself. He looked up when an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Dean had taken Gabriel’s seat and was send Crowley a challenging stare.

‘You haven’t broken through yet?’ Karen asked. She had been seven when she first materialized a pair of solid, rudimentary blades in either hand. She had always been quick and agile and able to summon a small, blunt object, but her true power had manifested in her blades.

‘It’s just finding out what you’re good at, right?’ Dean asked as he gave Castiel a reassuring squeeze. ‘I have a pretty good idea what _that_ is.’

Castiel glanced at Bobby and Karen. He quickly looked to his father and received a nonchalant shrug. ‘But I…I can’t control it,’ he quietly replied. ‘It’s not just coming into your powers… It’s being able to control them.’

‘Lailah and I figured his powers were only half discovered,’ Crowley said. ‘Once he gets the other half, everything will click.’

Castiel rubbed his arm self-consciously and leaned into Dean’s hold. He hoped his father was right.

Dean raised a brow at Crowley. ‘What could possibly be the other half of smite-n-go?’ he asked. He felt a sharp flare of irritation come from Castiel.

‘Smite…and…go…?’ Karen’s nose crinkled as she spoke, wrapping her mind around Dean had just said. ‘ _Smite_?!’

Dean bit his lip and sent Castiel a silent apology. He was relieved when he received a warm reply.

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose when it became clear that no one else was going to explain. ‘Cas can smite things and he…doesn’t need any recovery time,’ he said.

‘What?!’ Bobby leaned forward and looked from Sam to Castiel. He watched as Castiel hid behind his wings and leaned even further into Dean.

‘That’s…impossible,’ Karen insisted. ‘I’ve only met two angels capable of smiting and they… They’re…’

‘Useless after they blow their load?’ Balthazar suggested with a cheeky grin.

Karen huffed at the crassness, but nodded. ‘Well, yes.’

Crowley beamed proudly and Castiel. ‘Castiel may not have the best control,’ he said, ‘but he certainly makes up for it with power.’

Anna snorted, pulling everyone’s attention to herself. ‘He can barely perform simple tasks. I’m surprised he can even summon clean clothes!’

Dean brought his other arm around Castiel, protectively holding the angel in his arms. Through their connection, he could feel how Castiel thought Anna’s words were true. He placed a soft kiss on Castiel’s head. ‘She’s just jealous,’ he whispered. Even if Castiel didn’t believe it, Dean could tell the sentiment was appreciated.

Meg tried again to reach for Anna, but was stopped by the devil’s trap. She growled in frustration as she strained against the invisible wall.

‘Is there something on your mind, Anna?’ Crowley calmly asked.

Anna glanced quickly around the table. Eyes were darting back and forth between her and Crowley. They were expecting him to lash out at her. She breathed in steadily and directed her attention to Crowley. She had tried to voice her concerns before, but had been blown off and ignored. Maybe, since her employer was currently trapped, she would finally be heard.

‘He needs to be trained,’ she said. ‘How is he supposed to learn _anything_ if you just let him sit around and watch cartoons all day? In your need to protect him, he’s lost the ability to protect _himself_!’

‘I do just fine, thank you!’ Castiel replied defensively. It was true. He could protect himself quite well. Though it tended to be at the last minute.

Anna sat straighter in her chair. ‘You lack control.’

Crowley turned his attention to his glass. He did have a habit of spoiling his boys. Even Gabriel had trouble focusing his power at times. He let out a sigh before speaking. ‘She has a point, Castiel. Anna, you’re in charge of training him.’

Anna stood quickly, her chair screeching loudly on the floor. ‘W-what?! I wasn’t suggesting—‘

Crowley cut her off with a hard stare. ‘Do I make myself clear?’

Anna’s shoulders slumped in resignation. ‘Yes, sir.’

Castiel pulled himself from Dean’s arms and leaned toward his father. ‘I don’t need training,’ he insisted. He looked over to Anna and narrowed his eyes. ‘And certainly not from an amputee.’

Anna crossed her arms and looked away, glaring at the wall.

‘I’m not giving you a choice,’ Crowley said in an exasperated tone. ‘You begin tomorrow. Anna, do what you have to. If you need any targets, I’ll arrange for them to be sent.’

Castiel settled back against his chair as Anna gave a determined nod. He tried to reach out to Gabriel, but received no response, so he sent his misery Dean’s way. His wings got ruffled as Dean replied with happy thoughts.

‘Hey, I’ll be right there with you,’ Dean said. ‘It won’t be that bad.’

‘No, it’ll be worse,’ Balthazar put in with a grin.


	17. Chapter 17

Sam entered his room and found Gabriel sitting on the window sill with his legs hanging outside the window. ‘Hey…um…’ He stopped himself before he asked what was wrong. ‘I don’t wanna pry,’ he said, ‘but…I’m here if you wanna talk about it.’

Gabriel looked over his shoulder and gave Sam a grateful smile. ‘I just… I never knew. Even…even _Mom_ kept it from me,’ he replied.

‘Maybe she didn’t want you to worry,’ Sam said as he rested his hand over the center of Gabriel’s wings.

‘Yeah, but…it’s not just that.’

Sam waited patiently for Gabriel to continue, gently stroking the soft, golden feathers.

‘While I…while I was in his head, I saw…’ Gabriel turned so that he was straddling the window sill. His eyes kept darting up to meet Sam’s then away. ‘Dean’s gonna make him a new cuff,’ he said quietly. ‘Go back to the way things were…’

Sam stared at Gabriel. ‘That’s what this is _really_ about…’

Gabriel nodded grudgingly.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Gabriel replied, unable to keep the hurt and disappointment from his voice.

‘I wish things were different,’ Sam said as he took Gabriel’s hand in his.

‘I know.’ Gabriel reached up and pulled Sam down, placing a soft kiss on his lips. ‘And as far as Hunters go, you’re not so bad.’

Sam rolled his eyes before hefting Gabriel off of the window sill and into his arms. ‘Dean might know something that would work,’ he suggested. ‘If he was able to make the cuff work for Cas, then…maybe he came across something that would lessen he effects on a normal angel.’

Gabriel hugged Sam’s neck and nodded solemnly. ‘Yeah, I guess.’

Sam kissed the top of Gabriel’s head and carried him across the room to the bed. ‘Anything I can do right now to make you feel better?’

Gabriel tightened his arms and shook his head. ‘This is good. In the morning…yeah. We’ll hunt down that stupid brother of yours and see what he knows.’

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel threw himself face-first onto Dean’s bed. He lay still for a moment before screaming into the sheets, kicking and flapping his wings angrily.

Dean watched the display as he closed the door behind them. ‘Throwing a tantrum’s not gonna fix anything.’

Castiel rolled over and propped himself up on his elbows, glaring up at Dean. ‘It makes me feel better,’ he said petulantly. He pulled his legs into the bed and sat up. He sighed loudly as he slouched forward and stretched his wings out behind him as Dean sat next to him.

‘I thought…I thought things would be different,’ he confessed. ‘But it’s all the same. Everyone’s telling me what to do. What not to do. They treat me like a…a…a broken leper!’

Dean sniggered. ‘And what’s a broken leper look like?’

Castiel punched Dean in the arm and flinched back as pain shot up his own arm. He whined lowly as he hugged himself with his arms and wings. ‘It’s not _fair_!’ he cried. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. ‘I’m _not_ broken! I’m _not_ useless! I can…I can take care of myself…’

Dean pulled Castiel close and stoked his hair. ‘You’re not broken,’ he said as his kissed the top of Castiel’s head. ‘You’re just…’

‘If you say “different,” I’ll give you a black eye,’ Castiel promised. He pulled away from Dean and crossed his arms. ‘I don’t care how much the cuff will punish me. I’ll do it.’

Dean smiled at Castiel and leaned back. ‘All right. Then you’re…good, but untrained.’

After a moment of silence, Castiel shifted his gaze to the floor. ‘So…you agree with them,’ he said quietly.

‘Well…sort of,’ Dean admitted with a sigh. ‘I mean, look at _me_. _I_ wasn’t this good fresh outta the womb. I had to learn how to shoot. How to recognize signs… No one’s _born_ a Hunter. You may have been born an angel, but that doesn’t mean you were born to fight.’

Castiel met Dean’s eyes, staring forlornly. ‘If anyone was born to be a Hunter, it would be you and Sam,’ he replied. He shook his head when Dean opened his mouth to argue. ‘You may be a Winchester, but you’re also a Campbell. Every last one of them was born to be a Hunter. Including you.’

Dean rolled his eyes and scoffed. ‘Just ‘cuz the Campbell family business was Hunting, doesn’t mean none of them could have lived a perfectly normal life.’

‘Do you think _you_ could?’ Castiel asked.

‘Huh?’

‘Live a normal life,’ he explained. ‘Could you walk away? Settle down somewhere; start a family?’

‘Of course I could!’ Dean said more forcefully than he’d intended.

‘Would you be satisfied to simply call for help if you saw a monster in an alley? Not go after it yourself?’

Dean breathed in slowly, thinking. ‘Yes.’

Castiel gave Dean a knowing smile. ‘You don’t need to lie, Dean. It’s in your blood. Your family is the longest line of Hunters. Your heritage can be traced back to the Old Village. The first fighters against the darkness.’

Dean stared at his lap, not wanting to admit that Castiel was right. He had no hope for a normal life. He knew it. He always knew it. He and his brother weren’t normal, even by Hunter standards. They took every job that came their way. Big and small. It didn’t matter.

He looked up when Castiel placed a hand on his thigh. ‘Then I guess we’re both freaks,’ he said with a laugh.

Castiel hesitantly placed a soft kiss on Dean’s lips. ‘I don’t mind.’

‘So…if I take this off,’ Dean said, thumbing the cuff on Castiel’s wrist, ‘are you gonna go all glowy-blue-eyes on me again?’

Castiel frowned in confusion. ‘I can’t answer that. I don’t understand.’

‘When we were fooling around earlier…you uh… Your eyes started glowing,’ Dean explained.

Castiel looked even more confused. ‘But that…that doesn’t make sense.’

Dean’s stomach clenched in apprehension. ‘Does it have anything to do with the whole smiting thing?’ he asked.

‘What? No!’ Castiel quickly shook his head. ‘Archangels… Gabriel does it all the time with…with Father. It’s uh…er…a display of power,’ he said, stumbling over his words. ‘I shouldn’t be capable of… What’s _wrong_ with me?!’

Dean pulled Castiel into a hug and scratched at his wings. ‘Maybe you were supposed to be an Archangel and your demon half stunted your growth or something? I mean, your dad _is_ kinda short. Maybe that’s coming through in your wings?’

Castiel groaned miserably into Dean’s chest. ‘Please don’t tell anyone,’ he said.

Dean laughed and shook his head. ‘All right, but if you do it when everyone’s watching, you’re on your own, you little peacock.’

Castiel lifted his head at Dean’s amusement. ‘Peacock?’

Dean pushed Castiel back onto bed. ‘Yeah, a little peacock showing off his pretty tail.’

‘I don’t…oh.’ Castiel gave Dean a dirty look. ‘It’s not a…a _mating ritual_! It’s—oh! Do that again…’

Dean grinned as he palmed Castiel’s growing erection. ‘My pretty little peacock, showing off his pretty little tail,’ he said laughingly as Castiel moaned and arched his back, spreading his wings out. He leaned down and kissed Castiel’s neck.

‘Not a peacock,’ Castiel growled between moans.

‘Uh-huh…’ Dean grinned wickedly as his fingers brushed over the silver cuff on Castiel’s wrist. ‘Cas? Turn over. Get on your hands and knees.’

Castiel blinked in confusion as the cuff’s link tugged on him. As he rolled over, little tingles ran up his arm and into the pit of his stomach. He moaned lowly as he propped himself up. ‘D-Dean?’

‘I’ll take the cuff off in a minute,’ Dean promised. ‘I just wanna see something first. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, let me know, and I’ll stop. Okay?’

Castiel nodded jerkily, blushing brightly as he remembered his fantasy from the motel bathroom. Dean’s hands traveled along his back, settling between his wings. He panted heavily as Dean settled behind him, and he could feel just how hard Dean was, rubbing against his ass. ‘Should I… Do you want me to undre—’

‘No,’ Dean whispered into Castiel’s ear. ‘Keep ‘em on for now.’ He ran his fingers along the seam of Castiel’s jacket where the black wings poked out, dipping them in to rub along the joint.

Castiel’s wings vibrated under Dean’s touch, and he squirmed, rubbing his rear against Dean. He gasped and snapped his wings shut when Dean smacked his ass. He looked over his shoulder at Dean in confusion. ‘Dean?’

Dean gently rubbed the area he had just spanked. ‘Face forward and try not to move.’

Castiel frowned, but looked forward, enjoying the rush of pleasure that rewarded him for obeying. ‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked.

‘Spread your wings. Show them to me,’ Dean said huskily, lightly stroking Castiel’s spine.

Castiel slowly spread his wings, drawing out the sensations the cuff was giving him. He whined as he fully extended them, displaying every feather for Dean to see. He gasped as Dean very lightly caressed the length of his right wing. His arms shook as he dropped his head, panting for breath as Dean carefully ran his fingers along the other wing.

‘Do you like that?’ Dean asked, and Castiel nodded. ‘You like showing me your wings? Letting me touch them? Showing them off…like a little peacock attracting a mate?’

‘Yesss…,’ Castiel moaned.

‘Tell me.’

‘I…I like it when you touch my wings… Like it…oh…oh, God… Like it when you look at them. Like showing them to you… You make me feel like they look good.’

‘They do look good,’ Dean assured Castiel as he kissed a wing. ‘So beautiful. Just like you. Keep talking. Tell me what you want me to do to them.’

‘P-pet them… Squeeze them… Your fingers feel so good when you comb…comb through…ah!’ Castiel’s arms gave out as Dean’s fingers combed through his feathers. ‘F-feels…oh! Yes…good… Don’t ah…don’t stop. Want you to…to ah-ah! Under…oh, fuck! U-under… There! Yes!!’

Dean stroked the underside of Castiel’s wings, scratching where Castiel’s feathers became downy soft, just before feathers vanished to reveal pale skin. He laughed softly as Castiel twitched beneath him, his wings still spread as far as they would go. ‘Wanna see you naked,’ Dean whispered. ‘Lose the suit.’

In an instant, Castiel was bare, moaning helplessly with his face buried in his arms. He was having a hard time not moving, but the longer he stayed, the more intense the cuff rewarded him. ‘P-please,’ he begged. ‘Can’t hold on… Can’t… Please, Dean!’

‘All right,’ Dean relented. ‘Get on your back and show me your best peacock impression.’

Castiel rolled over, but stared at Dean in confusion. ‘I don’t…I don’t know what—’

Dean shook his head and rolled his eyes. ‘I mean, tempt me. Get me to fuck you.’

Castiel blushed as his breath hitched. ‘O-oh. We’re… You want to…?’

‘Only if _you_ want to,’ Dean said. He didn’t ask. He wanted Castiel to decide without being forced by the cuff.

‘Yes,’ Castiel replied breathlessly.

Dean sat back on his heels and smiled. ‘Now, then… Give me your best peacock impression. And don’t talk…unless you wanna stop.’

Castiel shyly curved his wings forward and trailed his hands over his chest and down his stomach. He moaned as his fingers brushed the base of his cock. He raised his knees and spread his thighs, watching how Dean’s eyes followed his hands. Through the link, he could feel how turned on Dean was, and it was driving him crazy. He wanted Dean to feel the same way. To want him more than anything else. He sent an image along the link and slowly licked his lips as Dean’s eyes shot up to meet his.

Dean stared at Castiel in shock. His vision had just been flooded with the sight of the angel propped upside down against a wall, framed by black feathers, sucking his own cock. There was no way. His mouth went dry as Castiel held his gaze, a dim glow behind them. ‘Was…w-was that…,’ he swallowed as Castiel moaned and flicked his wings, ‘…real?’

Castiel smirked and nodded slowly. He giggled as Dean swooped in and began attacking his stomach with soft kisses, working his way up. The giggle turned into a keening moan as the cuff rewarded him for gaining Dean’s attentions.

‘Do you want this?’ Dean asked between kisses.

‘Yes! God, yes!!’

‘With or without the cuff?’

Castiel stared up at the ceiling. ‘With,’ he replied breathlessly. ‘Tell me what to do. Makes it better.’

‘Yeah, saw that in the spell… How is it? How intense?’ Dean asked as he licked the length of Castiel’s neck.

‘Normally? Just…ah…just tingly. Oh…r-right now…right…there…mmm….so good. Like I can feel your soul inside me,’ Castiel panted. ‘When you…when you change the spell, can we keep this part?’

Dean pulled back, admiring the shy smile Castiel gave him. ‘Sure thing,’ he promised. ‘Now, let’s test that flexibility of yours.’


	18. Chapter 18

Castiel stared at his surroundings. He was in his father’s private archives. The room was normally in pristine condition, but now…now papers, books, and artifacts littered the floor. His father was going to be angry when he found out. He startled when a hand touched his wing.

He turned to face an angel he did not recognize. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ he said.

White wings spread behind the angel, framing him. ‘Neither should you,’ he replied. His eyes settled on Castiel’s wings. ‘Interesting.’

Castiel frowned and glanced at his wings. They were a beautiful white, a far cry from the normal black. ‘I’m dreaming,’ he said before facing the angel again.

‘Yes and no.’

Castiel’s eyes narrowed. He looked over the mystery angel. Three pairs of white wings, light hair, blue eyes, and a serene smile. ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘I suppose…you could call me your uncle,’ the angel replied. He reached out and ran his hand over Castiel’s wing. ‘You are something very special, Castiel.’

Castiel flinched away from the touch. ‘L-Lucifer!’

Lucifer’s smile widened. ‘Do you wish they were white?’ he asked as he circled Castiel.

Castiel remained still, telling himself that it was just a dream. ‘No. I just…I just dream that they’re white, sometimes.’

‘They must be quite a sight,’ Lucifer said conversationally as he stood in front of Castiel, assessing the younger angel. ‘I would love to see them in person.’

‘That would be rather difficult to arrange.’

‘Yes… Your father is quite clever in that regard,’ he admitted. ‘How about you tell me where I might find you?’

Castiel and cocked his head to the side. ‘Really? Just like that?’ he laughed. ‘Never.’

Lucifer laughed softly and approached Castiel. He rested his hand on Castiel’s right shoulder. ‘Yes. Just like that.’

Castiel reached up with his left hand and gasped when Lucifer grabbed his wrist tightly. ‘L-let go!’

‘Why? It’s only a dream.’

Castiel’s wings flared out as he struggled to pull his arm away. ‘Let me go!’ he screamed as Lucifer began chanting. His wrist felt like it was on fire. He let out a sob as the burning twisted deep into his skin and to the bone. Finally, Lucifer released him, and he hugged his wrist close. He quickly backed away and tried to examine what Lucifer had done. His wrist was bleeding profusely from what looked like a spell similar to the binding cuff.

‘W-what did you do?!’ he demanded.

‘Just a small taste of what the humans want to do to us,’ Lucifer calmly replied. ‘Your…Hunter… He changed the spell on your cuff. If he could change it to control _you_ , just think of what he could do to make it worse for the rest of us. No chance of the link being broken. Just slavery. And not just angels. Demons, too.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘No! Dean wouldn’t do that! He…he’s changing my cuff back to the way it was!’

Lucifer smiled softly at Castiel. ‘I’m sure he told you that. But he’s already meddled with the spell. It’s in his blood to do so. The Campbell’s have always been modifying the spell.’

‘The spell hasn’t been changed since—’

‘Archangels used to be immune to the cuff’s pull,’ Lucifer stated. ‘They changed that when they decided they wanted something more powerful at their beck and call. They’re the only ones that can change it, Castiel. It’s in their blood, and you know it.’

Castiel stared at his feet. ‘Dean isn’t like that,’ he insisted. ‘His soul is pure. He wants to help.’ He shivered when Lucifer lifted his chin. The sad look he received made him feel confused.

‘He is a descendent of the Witch. Dean and Sam Winchester are the last ones. The last ones that can turn us into slaves,’ Lucifer said softly.

‘Or free us.’

Lucifer shook his head in sorrow. ‘They won’t.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘They’re all the same,’ he said. ‘The Campbells were not known for their kindness. They took my brother from me. Changed him. How would you feel if someone did that to Gabriel? Stole him away and made him…wrong. Different. No more smiles. No more laughter.’ He pulled away from Castiel with a heavy sigh. ‘Michael was so different before they got to him.’

Castiel hugged himself tightly. ‘I…I would…want revenge,’ he quietly admitted. ‘But, they wouldn’t do that. Sam would _never_ do that Gabriel.’

‘Come now, Castiel. You know he’s changing. He’s not causing as much mischief as he used to.’

Castiel frowned. It was true. Gabriel _was_ behaving more calmly. But he was still himself. He still smiled the same. Still acted like he was one step ahead. He calmed down for Sam. ‘He’s in love.’

Lucifer sighed as he shook his head. ‘That’s how it starts. That’s how they got Michael. Lured him in with their youngest. She was young, sweet, beautiful… A soul that shone with such light and love…’ He trailed off, looking away. ‘I warned him, but he insisted that he had to protect such a beautiful soul.’

‘Dean’s soul is pure…’

‘It’s a false light,’ Lucifer continued. ‘It’s just the magic of their bloodline, shining through. It’s not their _real_ soul. _That_ is a disgusting piece of trash and hate.’

Castiel stepped back as Lucifer’s wings spread out threateningly. ‘Y-you’re wrong…’

Lucifer gave Castiel a kind smile. ‘Castiel, where are you?’

Castiel’s face scrunched in confusion. ‘I told you, I’m not—augh!!’ He doubled over in pain and fell to his knees. Pain laced up his arm. He had never felt anything like it. Even when his wing had been broken, the pain was nothing compared to what he was feeling at that moment. ‘I-I won’t—rrggh! No!!’ he screeched as he writhed on the ground in agony.

‘Castiel, tell me where you are,’ Lucifer said softly was he bent down and gently stroked Castiel’s wings.

‘N-no!! I won’t—hah! Won’t betray Dean! Never!!’ Castiel glared up at Lucifer, his eyes glowing brightly. He reached out with his hand, intent on smiting the other angel.

Lucifer backed away, shaking his head. ‘You’re quite the fighter… Very well. You don’t have to tell me. Not that it matters. I already know where to find you.’

Castiel gasped for breath as the pain slowly eased.

‘Stand up, Castiel.’

He would have remained on the ground, but the pain started up again, just as intense as before. He struggled to stand, the pain easing the further he got. He panted as he swayed, barely able to keep upright. ‘W-what did you…what did you do to me?’ he asked as he rubbed his wrist.

‘As I said, a small taste of what’s to come if the Campbell line is allowed to continue,’ Lucifer replied.

‘You’re _wrong_!’ Castiel cringed as Lucifer lightly touched his cheek.

‘I wish I were…’ Lucifer looked around as the light in the room intensified. ‘Unfortunately, our conversation must end. You will tell no one of this, Castiel.’

Castiel lifted his eyes to stare at Lucifer. ‘I-I’ll find a way.’

Shaking his head, Lucifer lovingly ran his hand through Castiel’s hair. ‘No, you won’t. I forbid you from speaking about this encounter to anyone. You will not be able to write it down nor type it out. You will not be able to send any little telepathic messages. No drawings. Nothing. No one will know of this. Am I understood?’

‘Y-yes,’ Castiel ground out against his will.

‘Good. Now, wake up.’

Castiel awoke with a start. Immediately, he pulled his left wrist in front of his face and examined it. It was just as plain as he had always remembered it. Not a blemish in sight. He looked down at Dean and shook him awake.

‘W-what? Huh? Cas?’ Dean rubbed his eyes and yawned. ‘Wha’s wrong?’

‘I—’ Castiel’s voice cut out and he couldn’t form the words he wanted to say. It couldn’t have been real. There was no way. ‘I…I had a bad dream. I’m sorry,’ he said with a slight smile, looking away. ‘I shouldn’t have woken you for something so trivial.’

‘Nah, it’s all good,’ Dean said as he hugged and kissed Castiel. ‘More ‘n happy to be here for ya’.’

Castiel hugged Dean tightly and clenched his eyes shut.  ‘Thank you,’ he whispered. He needed to warn everyone.


	19. Chapter 19

Castiel blushed deeply and ducked his head as he entered the dining room. Both Balthazar and Meg were giving him identical grins. He pulled his wings in tight when Meg held up a dust bin and shook it. The sound of broken glass filled the room and Balthazar’s grin widened. ‘S-shut up!’ Castiel shouted, turning to leave the room.

‘Woah! You okay?’ Dean said as Castiel ran into his chest.

Castiel hugged himself and stared at the ground in frustration. Of course he wasn’t okay. He was being picked on by the people that came closest to being his friends, and Lucifer had practically enslaved him. He could deal with Meg and Balthazar—he was used to them. But Lucifer…that was a whole other matter. ‘No!’ he snapped.

Dean’s brow creased in worry. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘Everything!’ Castiel whined helplessly, throwing his arms in the air. ‘Nothing!’ he said as flicker of pain ran through his left wrist. ‘I don’t know!! I can’t talk about it!’

Dean watched in confusion as Castiel pushed past him and stormed away. ‘Uh… What did you guys say to him?’

Meg shrugged as she set the dust bin down. ‘Nothing, really,’ she replied. ‘He broke all the bulbs last night.’

‘Thanks to you,’ Balthazar added.

Dean felt his face heat up but refused to be baited. ‘So? That doesn’t explain why he ran off.’

‘Well, he has a lot on his plate right now,’ Balthazar explained. ‘Cassie’s not used to stress. Used to be, the TV would break, and he’d go ballistic.’

‘Someone would sit in _his_ spot, and he’d freak out,’ Meg said. ‘He yelled at me for two hours once because I borrowed his chair from the study. I had to leave the building!’

‘That explains why he climbs over me in the middle of the night,’ Dean said. ‘Has to be on the right side of the bed.’

Balthazar and Meg laughed, relating more tales of how Castiel would blow up at people for rearranging furniture.

.-.-.-.-.

The morning went relatively well for Castiel. He was reading a book in the panic room as he waited for Dean to finish working on the binding cuff. He sighed heavily when Anna came to retrieve him for training. He followed her outside, absently rubbing on his left wrist. He flinched when Anna placed a hand over his.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said when Castiel looked up. ‘We’ll take it slow.’

Castiel nodded and forced his arms to his sides. He looked around the salvage yard and internally groaned. Everyone was outside with their eyes glued to him. Dean and Gabriel offered him encouraging smiles. ‘Uh…must everyone be out here?’ he asked quietly.

‘They’re making sure I don’t murder you,’ Anna bitterly replied.

Castiel pulled a confused frown. ‘That doesn’t make sense. You don’t like me, but you wouldn’t hurt me. Nothing that I wouldn’t be able to recover from, at least.’

‘Tell _them_ that,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Take off that stupid coat. We’ll start with some basic defense.’

Castiel stared at Anna for a minute before his coat and jacket vanished. ‘We’re going slow, right?’ He gasped when Anna surged forward, grabbed him by his tie and shoved him to the ground. He scrambled away, wings raised and spread. Shakily, he stood, keeping an eye on the other angel. His eyes flicked to Crowley, who watched impassively. He frowned when Crowley tilted his head and raised a brow.

‘Eyes forward!’ Anna shouted as she punched Castiel in the stomach.

Castiel hunched over and wheezed. He squinted up at Anna as he held his stomach. ‘W-what about…going slow?’

‘This _is_ slow,’ Anna retorted before attacking.

Dean winced as he watched Castiel get his ass handed to him. ‘C’mon, Cas,’ he said quietly. ‘Fight back…’

‘He can’t,’ Gabriel replied from beside him. ‘He doesn’t know how. Besides, what could he do? He can’t just smite her. She doesn’t _hate-hate_ him. Doesn’t wanna kill him…’ He trailed off and stared at the ground. ‘Don’t let him know I said this, but…this is for his own good.’

‘I thought she was supposed to teach him _how_ to fight, not beat him up,’ Sam said.

Dean frowned. ‘That’s how _we_ learned,’ he pointed out.

‘That’s how _you_ learned. _I_ actually took self-defense courses.’

Dean made a face before turning back to watch Castiel. He winced as Castiel attempted a punch only to be pushed aside and thrown to ground. ‘Well, someone definitely needs to teach him to throw a punch.’

‘Job’s yours,’ Crowley said as he checked his phone. He grimaced at one of the messages he had received. ‘Lucifer’s found his way into my private library.’

Gabriel leaned forward and stared at his father. ‘What?! Even _I_ have a hard time getting in there!’ His mouth snapped shut, and he leaned back, hiding behind Dean.

‘I know,’ Crowley said distractedly. ‘You’ve always been good at testing new security. All I have to do is tell you not to do something.’

‘You used me!’ Gabriel shouted accusingly.

Crowley looked up with a raised brow. ‘As I understand it, you had no business being in the archives. Or the vault. May as well use your curiosity to my advantage.’

Gabriel crossed his arms as he sat back, feathers bristled as he kept readjusting his wings in embarrassment. ‘Cas did it, too,’ he said grudgingly.

‘I know,’ Crowley replied, directing his attention back to the fight.

Castiel whipped his tie off as he narrowly missed another punch to the stomach. He breathed heavily as he backed away from Anna and tossed his tie to the ground. Anna gave him an impressed smirk, and he shied away.

‘See? You’re starting to learn,’ Anna said before dropping down and kicking out.

Castiel fell over as his feet were knocked out from beneath him. He grunted when he hit the ground and kicked out at Anna. He yelped when one of his ankles was grabbed and raised high. He flapped helplessly as he was pulled along the ground.

Anna certainly wasn’t the best fighter that worked for his father, and Castiel knew it. Balthazar was so much quicker than she was. Castiel could only imagine just how good of a fighter Lucifer was. If he didn’t stand a chance against Anna, then what would happen when he ended up facing Lucifer? Even if Lucifer had no sway over him, Castiel would lose. He would lose, and Dean would die. And it would be all his fault. He didn’t know how to fight. He didn’t know how to fend off even the simplest attacks.

The thought made him angry. Angry at himself for being so useless. Angry at Lucifer for placing a binding spell on him. Angry at the angel that currently had him hoisted up by his ankle. He glared up at Anna, not noticing the surprised look on her face.

Castiel was dropped back onto the ground, and he stared at the sky. The clouds above were sparse and moving slowly. In the back of his mind, he wanted it to rain. Just to match his current mood. He gasped and struggled when he was pulled upright. ‘Haven’t you done enough?! Leave me _alone_!’ he cried as he pushed against the arms around him.

‘Cas!’ Dean shouted, giving the angel a shake. ‘It’s _me_! Are you okay?’

Castiel stilled and slowly turned his face to Dean. ‘N—yes.’

Dean frowned, and his eyes flicked to where Anna had landed, thrown against one of the old junkers in the yard. She was cradling her arm as Balthazar helped her up and warily eying Castiel. ‘I think…you should take a break.’

‘I’d like that.’ Castiel clung to Dean’s shirt and pressed further against the human as his father and brother  approached them.

‘Well, Castiel, that was…impressive,’ Crowley said, patting dirt off his suit.

‘And fuckin’ cool! You should do that more often! I think you broke her arm!’ Gabriel said, grinning manically.

Castiel bowed his head and bit his lip. ‘I…I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. Just learn to control it,’ Crowley said. He shifted his attention to Dean, cocking his head to the side. ‘You weren’t very surprised… Did you know about this?’

Dean gave a stiff nod.

‘Know about what?’ Castiel asking, looking up at Dean.

Dean sighed and gave Castiel a reassuring squeeze. ‘You went all peacock. Knocked everyone off their feet and took out a few windows,’ he replied.

Castiel felt a numbness overtake him as he looked around the yard. Sure enough, a few of the junkers were sporting fresh damage, and the kitchen windows were busted. ‘I didn’t mean to…I just got so…angry. Did I hurt you?’

Dean shook his head and smiled. ‘Takes more than that to hurt me,’ he said.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel watched from his spot on the bed as Dean worked on a new binding cuff.  Dean was bent over his desk, a plain piece of silver in one hand, a stylus in the other.

‘C-can you…’ he trailed off, not sure how to phrase his thoughts. When Dean looked up, he quickly looked down. ‘Can you make one that’s stronger?’

‘Huh? Stronger? Stronger than what?’ Dean asked, turning to fully face Castiel. He leaned back in his chair as he set down the unfinished cuff.

‘Stronger than this one,’ Castiel said. He began to raise his left wrist then placed it back in his lap before raising his right.

‘Uh… I guess,’ Dean cautiously replied. ‘Don’t know why you’d want that… But uh…sure.’

Castiel shrugged as he stared at his lap, fixating on his left wrist. He rubbed at it and sighed.

‘I can work on it after I finish this one,’ Dean said, tapping on desk with the stylus. ‘It might take a while… This one’s givin’ me problems.’

Castiel looked up to meet Dean’s frustrated stare. ‘Oh? What’s wrong?’

‘Well, you want the reward of following orders, but the freedom to choose,’ Dean replied. ‘And I…I’m having trouble separating the spells. They’re just so fucking interwoven… I don’t think they were meant to be separated. It’s just…it’d actually be _easier_ to add to the spell and make it stronger than to pick it apart and use certain bits.’

‘I have complete faith in you,’ Castiel said, Lucifer’s warning ringing through his mind.

Dean sighed heavily as he stared at the half-finished spells he’d been scratching into the cuff. ‘Would you mind if I brought Sam in on this?’

‘Yes,’ Castiel quickly replied. ‘But…I would not be _opposed_ to it. If you trust him with this, then… Well, I trust _you_.’

Dean nodded then stood. Castiel pulled a frown as Dean left the room. His attention immediately went straight to his left wrist. He squeezed his hand around it, rubbed it, and scratched at it. He just couldn’t _feel_ anything that was off. The only evidence that Lucifer had done anything to him was that he couldn’t speak one word of it Dean. And it was painful when Dean’s questions conflicted with Lucifer’s commands.

‘Cassie!’

Castiel looked up in time to brace himself. Gabriel tackled him and they bounced lightly on the bed.

‘I’m gonna get a new cuff! A better cuff! In designer colors!’ Gabriel exclaimed as he hugged his brother.

Castiel hugged back and brought his wings around Gabriel. ‘Sorry I didn’t say anything…’

‘Hey, I forgive you,’ Gabriel said as he sat up and lightly punched Castiel on the arm.

Dean entered the room, soon followed by Sam. ‘So, uh… I’m stuck,’ he said. ‘I know what I’m _supposed_ to do, I just don’t know _how_ …’

Sam nodded as he looked over Dean’s progress and all of the notes that were spread across the desk. He sat down as he sifted through the notes, comparing them to Dean’s preliminary sketches. ‘Well…this’d be a hell of a lot easier if you just took out this spell completely…’

‘I _know_!’ Dean said as he paced behind Sam. ‘It’d be easier to just make a regular binding cuff, but we want the power behind the spell’s reward system. Normal cuff doesn’t have that. Not with Cas.’

Sam looked over his shoulder at Dean, frowning. ‘Reward system?’ A cough from the bed caught his attention. Both Castiel and Gabriel were blushing brightly and trying to look anywhere but at the pair of Hunters. ‘O-oh…right. That…explains a lot, actually.’

‘You don’t understand,’ Gabriel said. ‘It’s like ten times better when a command’s involved! It makes everything so fucking _intense_!’

Castiel buried his face in his hands, but nodded in agreement. He could feel Dean’s amusement and promises of fixing the cuff’s spellwork. He chanced looking up and found that Sam had gone back to pouring over Dean’s notes, Dean watching over his shoulder, occasionally pointing out some of the changes he was thinking of making. He smiled at the scene before him.

‘Does it have to be silver?’ Gabriel asked, pulling Castiel from his thoughts.

‘Nothing says it has to be,’ Dean replied without looking up.

‘I want mine to be gold. To match my wings,’ Gabriel said, spreading his wings for emphasis. ‘I mean, silver’s nice and traditional, but it just clashes.’

Dean glanced at the angels, and his gaze rested on Castiel. ‘Any preferences, Cas?’

Castiel shook his head. ‘I _like_ how this one looks,’ he replied, raising his hand to show off the cuff.

‘That’s ‘cuz you have no taste,’ Gabriel said, lightly pushing at Castiel.

Dean shook his head as he went back to looking over his revisions to the spell.

‘What about this?’ Sam asked, pointing out a particular set of sigils set within a circle. ‘Rework the compulsion. Make it less heavy duty…’

‘ _How_?’ Dean asked, his frustration showing. ‘I’ve been trying, and nothing looks like it would work.’

‘Did you try taking it back to an older form? It looks like extra seals have been added over time, so…if we get rid of these,’ Sam said, crossing out a few sigils, ‘and these…then… There. That looks more like what the base spell should be.’

Dean stared as Sam drew up a new circle. ‘Fuck. That looks like one of the museum pieces. I’m so fucking stupid.’

Sam smiled at Dean and said nothing.

Castiel felt lighter at Dean’s  excitement running through the cuff’s link. Lucifer didn’t know what he was talking about. The Winchester brothers were not going to enslave angels and demons. They were going to make things _right_.


	20. Chapter 20

The first variation of Castiel’s new binding cuff was a dud. On paper, everything looked right. None of the spells contradicted each other, and it accounted for his demon side. The second one itched like crazy. When Gabriel was given a similar one, he complained of hot flashes.

If Dean was frustrated with their lack of progress, Sam was even more irritated. Sam chucked the slip of silver against the wall and ran his hands though his hair. ‘I don’t get it! It’s _supposed_ to work! What are we doing _wrong_?!’

Gabriel came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders. ‘Hey…you’ll figure it out. It’s an old spell,’ he said soothingly. ‘It’s had _centuries_ to evolve. You can’t just…fix it overnight.’

Sam sighed as he leaned back into Gabriel. ‘Yeah, but…it shouldn’t be this hard. Well, maybe with Cas, but…not with you.’

‘Well, I _am_ an Archangel, so…a smidgen more powerful than your average Low and High Angels.’ He felt Sam stiffen under his fingers. ‘Uh… Sam? You okay?’

‘Do you…do you think Balthazar would be willing to be bound? Just for a few minutes,’ Sam asked.

Gabriel didn’t answer right away. His breathing became ragged as he clutched at Sam’s shoulders.

Sam frowned and looked up at Gabriel. ‘Oh! Sorry!’

‘Yes,’ Gabriel ground out. He flapped his wings and turned from Sam, crossing his arms. ‘But I don’t want you to do it!’

Sam quickly stood and pulled Gabriel into a hug. ‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘I was just curious. I’d never replace you.’

Gabriel nodded and adjusted his wings so that he fit more comfortably against Sam. ‘I know…’

‘It’s just that…having a Low Angel to test the new spells on would make this easier. And I think Cas being half demon is mucking up the spells,’ Sam explained.

‘Oh! I would treat him like an Archangel,’ Gabriel said. ‘He might not look it, but he has the power of one. …Sometimes.’

‘So… You’re saying that we shouldn’t simplify the spell so much?’ Sam said, turning back to the pile of notes on Dean’s desk.

‘I dunno,’ Gabriel replied. ‘I just think you need to account for our power. Too much power running through the spell…’

‘And it won’t work… Wait!’ Sam grabbed Gabriel’s wrist and inspected the sigils. He ran his fingertips over the outer edge of one of the minor circles. ‘These are for channeling. The cuff…the actual binding _spell_ runs off _your_ power!’

Gabriel nodded wordlessly. ‘But I don’t feel anything…’

‘You don’t feel anything because it runs on next to nothing,’ Sam explained. ‘I should have seen it before. These,’ he gently turned Gabriel’s wrist and pointed to a set of sigils, ‘are limiters. The older cuffs don’t have them. That’s why they don’t work right on you. A Low Angel isn’t putting out that much power when they’re not doing anything.’

‘That’s why it doesn’t work right on Cas. It can’t run off his power,’ Gabriel said softly. The suspicion was always there. His adoptive father had done plenty of research on the subject of the cuffs after Castiel’s feathers had come in. He knew what each spell on the cuff did. He watched as Crowley had tried to change the spell, but the bloodspell that was interwoven throughout the spell prevented any changes by those not descended from the Witch.

Sam beamed at Gabriel. ‘Exactly! Devil’s traps use a demon’s power to keep them in place, so when Dean added one to Cas’s cuff, it was able to utilize both sides!’

‘You’re too excited about this…’ Gabriel slowly pulled his hand away, giving Sam a wary stare. He was beginning to see why Crowley would never trust a human with any of the details of the cuff’s spell.

Sam’s shoulders slumped. ‘Well…the spell hasn’t been changed in…centuries. This is…it’s like a new discovery. We can make things better. For you, Cas, Karen…for all angels. No more hiding. No more being treating as less than human.’

‘Or you could make it worse,’ Gabriel pointed out.

‘We wouldn’t do that.’

‘Not intentionally…’ Gabriel sighed as he twisted the cuff around his wrist. He was excited at the initial prospect of getting a cuff with more leeway, but… As he looked over Sam and Dean’s research notes, his stomach clenched. Everything was laid out, dissected, explained… If Sam and Dean went too basic with the new spell, then anyone could come along and make changes. It would no longer need the Campbell bloodline to make the change. Once they found a spell to properly bind an angel, it would set off a chain reaction, breaking the connection of the old cuffs. At least, that’s what Crowley’s notes had revealed. And Crowley had destroyed the evidence soon after the discovery.

‘Promise me,’ Gabriel whispered. ‘Promise me you’ll keep the bloodspell in it and destroy your notes.’ He stared pleadingly at Sam.

Sam nodded dumbly at Gabriel. ‘S-sure… Um… Which one’s the bloodspell? Why?’

Gabriel chewed on his lip as he looked away. He trusted Sam with his life, but could he trust him with the fate of his species? He let out a shaky breath as he lost the battle with Sam’s question. ‘All those little extra symbols that you think are just decoration? That’s it. It makes it so only the Campbell line can change things… It’s tied to the Witch’s bloodline. Only you and Dean can change the spell and have it work. If you take it out…’

Sam pulled Gabriel into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head. ‘We’ll keep it in,’ he promised. As he held Gabriel in his arms, he had to wonder just how Gabriel knew about the bloodspell. ‘You…seem to know a little more about the binding cuffs than I was expecting…’

Gabriel nodded, burying his face in Sam’s chest. ‘Dad was real interested in them after we found out about Cas’s wings… He uh…he got really pissed off when he found out _you_ guys had bound us,’ he replied. ‘I should have made the connection. I knew the Winchester name, but…you weren’t what I was expecting.’

Sam chuckled and petted Gabriel’s wings. ‘I’d hate to know what you _were_ expecting.’

‘A couple of redneck bears that trample over everything in their path,’ Gabriel quickly replied. He pulled back and smiled up at Sam. ‘Instead, I got a jerk with too much heart and low self-esteem and a gigantic moose with too much education.’

Sam rolled his eyes and flicked at Gabriel’s ear.

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel threw another punch at the punch mitt on Dean’s hand. He was growing tired and frustrated.

‘Well, that’s…better,’ Dean said encouragingly.

‘You’re lying. Dean… I can’t fight. Not like this.’ Castiel’s wings dropped as he rubbed at his wrist. ‘I can barely even fight using my powers.’

‘C’mon, now,’ Dean said, tipping up Castiel’s chin. ‘We could just get you some brass knuckles. Or a roll of quarters?’

Castiel brows furrowed in confusion. ‘Quarters?’

‘Yeah. Helps you make a good fist… Give a harder punch. And, depending on who you talk to, might be a little on this side of cheating,’ Dean replied.

‘Right now, I’m not above cheating.’

Dean laughed and ruffled Castiel’s hair. ‘Hey, it’s not that bad. You’ll get better! I promise. You just need some practice. Your uh…dad said he’s havin’ some easy monsters shipped out for you to practice on, so…that’s good, right?’

Castiel nodded and leaned into Dean. ‘I…I hope things work out.’

Dean smiled and lightly kissed Castiel’s lips. ‘Won’t tell you not to worry about it, ‘cuz I know you will anyway. But…I think things’ll be just fine.’

Castiel ran his fingers over Dean’s chest and to his stomach. Through the shirt, he traced the line of Dean’s waistband. ‘I think being distracted would help,’ he said.

‘Tell you what… You throw _one_ good punch, and we’ll take the rest of the afternoon off and work on your stamina.’ Dean grinned and raised his hand again.

Castiel stared at the mitt on Dean’s hand. Slowly, he curled his fingers into a fist. He tried to imagine a roll of quarters. He hoped game tokens would be close enough. That, he could summon with no problem. His fingers closed tightly around the new weight in his hand. He pulled back, kept his wrist straight and went for it with everything he had.

‘Ow! Fuck!’ Dean stumbled back and blinked up at Castiel. ‘Where the hell did _that_ come from?!’

‘I took your advice,’ Castiel said, opening his fist to show off the roll of game tokens before letting it vanish. ‘Although, I had to substitute the quarters… Was that all right?’

Dean nodded as he shook out his hand. ‘I guess it’s just a motivation issue, huh?’

Castiel blushed and looked down. ‘That might be part of it,’ he admitted.

‘Oh, right! Sorry!’ Dean said in a rush, taking Castiel’s hand in his. ‘Here, let’s get you a new one of those… I keep getting distracted trying out new spells…’

Castiel pulled his hand away and clutched his left wrist, shaking his head. ‘No! It’s fine like this! Don’t feel the need to waste any of the blanks.’ He flinched when Dean cupped his cheek.

‘Cas…are you okay?’ Dean asked.

Castiel made a small, distressed noise in the back of his throat. ‘Yes, of course,’ he happily replied.


	21. Chapter 21

Over the next two weeks, Castiel was pitted against vampires, werewolves, and a few shifters. His days were filled with training, and his nights were filled with fighting sleep. When he passed out from exhaustion, Lucifer would be right there, waiting. He fought Lucifer’s questions, but it was all for naught. Lucifer already knew the answers.

Lucifer knew the layout of Bobby’s property. He knew exactly who was staying at the house. What monsters Castiel was fighting.

‘How do you _know_ this?!’ Castiel screamed after Lucifer commented on his small battle with a vampire. He hugged himself as he backed away from Lucifer.

‘Stay put,’ Lucifer said lightly as he walked around Castiel. ‘Let me see those wings of yours…in their proper color.’

Castiel groaned and sank to the ground. He tried to fight the order, panting as his wings slowly spread out. He let out a choked sob as the pain stopped, his wings fully extended. He curled in on himself, feeling exposed.

Lucifer frowned as he traced Castiel’s wings with his fingers. ‘Castiel…show me their true color.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he wailed.

‘They’re still white.’

Castiel shook as he raised his head and glanced back at his wings. They were still the pristine white of his dreams. ‘I-I don’t…I can’t control it,’ he stuttered.

‘This is a dream, Castiel,’ Lucifer said evenly. ‘You _can_ control it.’

‘No, I can’t,’ Castiel said helplessly. ‘ _You_ control it.’ He gasped and flinched away as Lucifer gently stroked his hair.

‘True… Castiel, I need you to do something for me,’ Lucifer said as he crouched next to Castiel. ‘Remove the devil’s trap from the northwest corner of the property.’

‘There’s no point…’

‘Now, wake up.’

‘No!’ Castiel shot upright. He gasped for breath as he looked wildly around the kitchen. He had fallen asleep at the kitchen table listening to Karen’s humming. He flinched when Karen set a slice of cherry pie in front of him.

‘Sweetie… Are you okay?’ Karen asked, rubbing his shoulder.

Castiel nodded stiffly as he rubbed his left wrist. ‘Y-Yeah… I have to…g-go now…’

Karen watched as Castiel stumbled out the kitchen door into the backyard, whimpering. As soon as the door shut she turned and made her way to the study. ‘Something’s wrong with Castiel,’ she said to the small group that was gathered.

Sam, Dean, Gabriel, and Crowley looked over at Karen, none of them surprised.

‘Was he rubbin’ his wrist?’ Dean asked.

Karen nodded. ‘Yeah…’

Dean looked away, grimacing. ‘He’s rubbed it raw, and he hasn’t even noticed,’ he muttered.

‘What’s going on?’ Karen asked.

‘Lucifer,’ Crowley replied. ‘He found a way to make Castiel bend to his will.’

‘Like the cuff? But that’s… How?!’ Karen’s wings flared out as she placed her hands on her hips. ‘An angel can’t bind another angel!’

‘If the spell’s broken down enough, then…yes,’ Crowley explained. ‘We need to go on the offensive.’

‘Before he shares the new spell,’ Karen agreed.

Sam shook his head. ‘I don’t think he’d do that. He hates humans. He wouldn’t give us something even more powerful to bind angels with.’

‘He just wants Castiel,’ Crowley said. ‘He wants his power. We can _not_ let that happen.’

Gabriel had been picking at a loose thread on his sleeve the whole time. He stopped and looked up. ‘He’s blocked me,’ he said quietly. ‘These past couple weeks… I thought it was just him being stressed, but… I can see it in his eyes. He’s begging me to save him, and I _can’t_ do **_anything_**! If I _say_ anything, then Lucifer’ll know! I can’t…I can’t let him know it’ll be okay…’

Sam took Gabriel into arms as the angel broke down into quiet sobs. ‘We’ll figure it out,’ he said, stroking Gabriel’s hair.

‘But until then, what do we do about Cas?’ Dean asked. ‘I mean, I trust him, but…we _can’t_ trust him right now. Not if Lucifer’s in control.’

Crowley sighed. ‘I already have Anna and Meg fixing all the wards he’s taken down,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It’s random, too. I think Lucifer’s testing the extent of his power over him. If he really wanted Castiel _right now_ , he’d have him leave the property. Hasn’t happened yet.’

‘Might not want Michael to know just yet,’ Dean suggested. ‘Think about it. Lucifer knows just where to find Cas. We’re already keeping him safe, so he doesn’t have to do anything. Not ‘til he needs Cas.’

‘Maybe…Michael _should_ know where Castiel is,’ Crowley said quietly.

‘Are you _insane_?! You said yourself he wants Cas dead!’ Dean shouted.

Crowley nodded. ‘That may be, but if Michael knows where to find him, then it will force Lucifer into making a move. If we’re lucky, he’s not really ready to make that move,’ he explained. ‘The more unprepared his is, the better it is for us.’

‘And how do you suggest we tell Michael about Castiel?’ Karen asked.

‘We go right up to him and tell him,’ Crowley replied. ‘I’d prefer to send angels, but he definitely won’t trust Anna or Balthazar. And I _won’t_ send Gabriel, either. However we do this, we can’t let Castiel know.’

‘Bobby and I can go,’ Karen said. ‘We’ve got a good reputation among Hunters. And I haven’t heard anything bad about us from other angels.’

‘I wanna go, too,’ Dean said. ‘He saved our mom…he might be willing to help me and Sam out.’

‘He did that under orders,’ Crowley pointed out.

‘He could have turned right around and given up her location after he was freed,’ Sam said. ‘But he didn’t. We could work with that.’

Gabriel looked up at Sam, wiping his nose on his sleeve. ‘I don’t want you to go,’ he said softly. ‘Besides, Cas’ll know something’s up if you guys leave, too. Bobby and Karen can use a hunt as an excuse, but you guys have to stay here.’

‘He’s right,’ Sam said with a sigh. ‘It _would_ be too suspicious.’

Crowley nodded as he stared at Gabriel. When his adoptive son glanced at him, he raised a brow in question.

 

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel sat on the small cot in the panic room. Bobby and Karen had just left the day before to help a fellow Hunter with a job. He looked up when he heard a soft knock on the open door. Dean stood in the doorway, giving him a soft smile.

‘Comin’ to bed?’ Dean asked.

Castiel shook his head. ‘Not tonight,’ he replied. ‘It’s nice and cool down here… I thought I’d get a little sleep down here.’

‘You want me to join you?’

‘N-not really… I’m sorry, Dean,’ Castiel whispered, his voice shaking. ‘I just…I need to be alone right now.’

Dean nodded as he trailed his hand over the doorjamb. ‘Well, when you feel like it…I’ll be in bed, waiting… Sam and Gabe are in the living room watching God knows what.’ He sighed and turned toward the stairs, leaving Castiel alone in the basement.

Castiel clutched the side of the cot tightly as he listened to Dean’s footsteps ascend the stairs. His wrist was burning, and he couldn’t fight off the need to sleep any longer. He fell over on his side and immediately found himself standing in front of Lucifer.

‘Apparently, your friends have deemed it necessary to alert Michael to your location,’ Lucifer said calmly.

‘W-what? Why would they…’

‘I know,’ Lucifer said with a sigh. ‘They probably think they’re making the right decision. Choosing the…lesser of two evils. In their eyes, at least.’ He stroked Castiel’s cheek and gave him a sad look. ‘Unfortunately, my brother won’t see you as the gift you are.’

Castiel shook as he took a step back. ‘At least Michael won’t kill Dean.’

‘I’m not going to kill your Hunter,’ Lucifer said in amusement as his eyes roamed over Castiel. ‘No… Not me.’

Castiel breathed in sharply. ‘I won’t. I can’t. The cuff would prevent it. That’s the one thing you _can’t_ make me do,’ he said, gaining a little confidence with his knowledge.

Lucifer smiled widely and nodded. ‘Very true. But…I will need you leave your Hunter. I have a car waiting just outside the front gate.’

Castiel shook his head and hugged himself, pulling his wings in tight. ‘N-no… No! I won’t!’

‘You will. I’m sorry it has to be this way,’ Lucifer said as he circled Castiel. He paused by Castiel’s side and whispered into his ear. ‘Castiel, when you wake up, you will leave through the front gate. Tell no one where you are going.’

Castiel scurried away, flapping his wings rapidly. ‘No!’ he screeched, scratching at his left wrist.

‘And, if you happen to encounter Sam Winchester…’

Castiel’s stomach dropped, and he felt a numbness settle over him as he stared at Lucifer in horror.

‘Kill him.’

Castiel jerked and fell onto the floor of the panic room. He clutched the leg of the cot as Lucifer’s command race up his arm, sending sharp jolts of pain. Unsteadily, he got to his feet, and the pain eased slightly. He stumbled to the stairs and paused, staring up at the main hall. If he could just avoid Sam, then it would be okay. Dean had said Gabriel and Sam were in the living room, so he would just leave through the kitchen door. He wouldn’t have to go anywhere near Sam.

With shaky legs, Castiel ascended the stairs, wincing as they creaked under his weight. He reached the top and headed for the kitchen. Leaning against the doorframe, he stared into the kitchen. ‘N-no…’

Sam turned and gave Castiel a bright smile. ‘Hey, Cas! Just making some popcorn,’ he said. ‘You want any?’

Castiel pressed against the wall as his body moved into the kitchen against his will. ‘Please leave,’ he begged.

‘Cas? You okay? What’s wrong?’ Sam reached out to Castiel as he moved toward the angel.

‘Stay away from me! Please!!’ Castiel stumbled and fell against the kitchen counter. His eyes fell on the wooden block that held the knives. He held his breath as he watched his own hand reach out and pull the large carving knife free. He shivered and clenched his eyes shut as a hand touched his shoulder.

He dragged the point of the knife across the counter as he tried to fight the command. He felt like he was being torn apart from the inside. ‘Please run,’ he moaned.

‘Cas, what—oh!’

Castiel gasped and slumped back against the counter. He stared ahead, focusing on the knife embedded in Sam’s chest. He blinked when Sam crumpled to the floor, revealing Gabriel standing stock still in the doorway.

‘C-Cas…?’ Gabriel took a step forward, his eyes darted back and forth between Sam and Castiel.

Castiel hugged himself and edged along the counter to the door to outside. ‘I-I’m sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I tried… I-I can’t… Please stop me,’ he said, no longer able to fight Lucifer’s command. He darted out the door, leaving Gabriel alone in the kitchen.

Gabriel watched the door for a moment before walking over to Sam’s side. He looked down and swallowed at the sight. With a wave of his hand, Sam disappeared and the knife clattered loudly to the floor.

He sighed heavily as he pulled out his phone and dialed Crowley. ‘Hey, Dad… Uh…it worked?’ He walked to the open door and stared outside. ‘Well, he killed my fake-Sam. Didn’t touch fake-Dean… Yeah, I’d say he thought it was real. Oh, uh…is Sam there?’

He waited while Crowley passed the phone to Sam, a few cutting remarks drifting over the connection.

‘Gabriel?’

‘Sammy!’ Relief flooded through Gabriel at the sound of Sam’s voice. ‘You gotta come home! That was just too…too… I don’t wanna see you die again,’ he said quietly.

‘Hey, it’s okay. We’ll be there tomorrow,’ Sam said soothingly. ‘Just hang tight, okay?’

‘Yeah… Uh… I’m gonna go lock everything and put up some devil’s traps and angel warding… So uh…sorry if no one can get inside…’ Gabriel pulled the door shut and locked it. He began looking through the kitchen drawers until he finally found a piece of chalk.  ‘And tell Karen I’ll clean up all the chalk and paint later.’

‘No, no! That’s good! Keep yourself safe. If you think anything’s about to happen, then get out of there.’

‘Okay… I guess…I’ll see you guys tomorrow? Um… Tell Dean I’m sorry about Cas. I love you. Er…you. Not Dean. Well, Dean’s okay, but he’s got nothin’ on you, and—’

‘Gabe! I know. It’s okay. I love you, too. Now, hurry up and get everything locked down.’

Gabriel spent the next two hours setting up devil’s traps, placing wards on the walls, doors, and windows, and locking every door, going so far as to prop a chair under the handle of a few. When he was finished, he grabbed a cereal box and a couple sodas and headed to the panic room. He struggled to pull the heavy door shut then pushed the old filing cabinet in front of it. He panted as he grinned at his handiwork. Then realized why his makeshift barricade wouldn’t work.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part of Michael will be played by an older Adam.

Castiel stared at the large flatscreen mounted to the wall. He was back at home. Back in his bedroom. Back with his collection of old cartoons. As much as he missed it all, it brought him little comfort. He sat on the edge of his bed and hugged his pillow tightly as the door to his room opened and Lucifer entered. ‘Please leave me alone,’ he mumbled, not taking his eyes off the screen.

‘Come, now, Castiel,’ Lucifer said as he sat next to Castiel. ‘Don’t be like this. I’ve done everything to make you comfortable.’

Castiel shied away as Lucifer stroked his hair. It was true. Lucifer had been nothing but kind to him. Treated him well, spoke kindly to him… Castiel had to keep reminding himself that Lucifer had ordered him to kill Sam. As much as he wanted to leave and return to Dean, he didn’t think he’d be able to face the Hunter. Not after what he’d done. He shivered as Lucifer’s hand settled over the binding cuff on his wrist.

‘It won’t be much longer,’ Lucifer said, twisting the cuff around Castiel’s wrist. ‘Soon, we’ll have found a way to free you from his hold.’

‘Then it’ll just be you in control,’ Castiel said bitterly. He tugged his hand away and got up to cross the room. He hugged his pillow as tight as he could and stared out his window to the buildings across the street. Many of the angels and demons that worked for his father lived in apartments of the tall buildings. He wondered if they knew what was going on.

‘You needn’t worry about them,’ Lucifer said as he stood behind Castiel. ‘None of them will be harmed. For now, at least.’

‘For now?’ Castiel looked over his shoulder at the older angel. ‘What are you planning to do with them?’

‘The angels will live, of course. I can’t say the same for anything else.’

‘But…there are humans living there! Demons! O-one of the werewolves there has never harmed _anyone_!’ Castiel cried out as he spun to face Lucifer. ‘You have plenty of demons and monsters under your command. Why permit the angels to live, but not the demons or monsters?! What makes _them_ so special?’

‘Because angels are pure,’ Lucifer replied. ‘We are pure goodness, and all the others…they’re tainted with such darkness. The world needs cleansing.’

‘So it’s not just revenge for the humans taking your brother,’ Castiel said, slowly spreading his wings. ‘I can’t believe I felt sorry for you. So what do you intend to do with _me_ once I’ve outlived my usefulness?’

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Castiel. The younger angel’s eyes glowed brightly, and he exuded a great amount of power, but Lucifer didn’t move. ‘That depends, Castiel. You may be a halfbreed, but you display more angelic qualities than demonic. For now, the plan is to let you live. When all is said and done, you will be allowed to return to your brother.’

Castiel dropped his pillow and jumped at Lucifer. The moment his fingers brushed Lucifer’s chest, a crippling pain shot up his left arm. He crumpled to the floor, cringing and screaming. He sobbed as the pain eased, feeling Lucifer softly stroking his wing. He folded his wings as tight as he could and tried to push himself away from Lucifer.

‘It’s okay, Castiel,’ Lucifer whispered. ‘I forgive you for your little outburst. It’s quite understandable.’ He stood and stared down at Castiel for a moment before heading to the door. He opened it and waved in a pair of angels holding up a struggling demon.

Castiel pressed himself into a corner and wiped the tears from his face. He shook his head as the demon was brought closer. ‘No…please don’t…’

‘I need you to take care of a problem for me.’

‘No, no, no, no…’ Castiel recognized the demon as one of his father’s employees. He had never been particularly nice to Castiel, but he had never gone out of his way to harm the angel, either. ‘Don’t make me do this!’

‘Castiel, I want to see what you are capable of,’ Lucifer said. ‘Smite him.’

Castiel choked back a sob as he was forced to stand. He stared miserably at the struggling demon. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered as he pressed his palm against the demon’s forehead. He shut his eyes, refusing to watch the demon burn from the inside. If he could have chosen, he would have rather shut out the screams.

.-.-.-.-.

Bobby pulled at the door to the panic room, but it wouldn’t budge. He stood back and scratched his head. ‘It’s unlocked…why the hell won’t it open?!’

Sam came up beside Bobby, followed closely by an older Archangel with light hair and white wings. ‘Is Gabriel in there?’ he asked as he looked over the door. A small detail caught his attention. ‘Wait…where are the hinges?’

Bobby ran his hand along the edge of the door where the hinges had once been. ‘He…he turned the door around?’ Bobby sighed in irritation and pushed at the door, but it still wouldn’t budge.

The angel that was with them stepped up to the door and banged on it with his fist. ‘Gabriel! This is your father. It’s safe. Open the door.’

‘You’re not my dad,’ Gabriel said from behind the small group. ‘You probably _killed_ my dad.’ He crossed his arms and gave Michael a challenging stare.

‘A demon is not your… Never mind. Gabriel…’ Michael shook his head and pointed at the door. ‘Come out of that room this instant.’

Gabriel sidled up to Sam and latched onto his arm. ‘No. I don’t trust you. You want my family dead. You want my dad dead, and you probably want my brother dead. I’m not coming out for that.’

‘We already spoke to him, Gabriel,’ Sam said as he stroked his angel’s hair. ‘Michael’s not going to kill Crowley _or_ Castiel. I promise.’

Gabriel looked from Sam to Michael. ‘How do _I_ know that?’ he asked.

‘Because Dean Winchester can be very convincing,’ Michael replied.

‘Dean threatened you? Good!’

‘Yeah, and then _he_ went off on how I have the same _inner light_ as my mom,’ Dean said as he entered the basement.

‘It’s true,’ Michael said. ‘You and your brother share your mother’s light. You’re both pure souls. You especially, Dean.’

Dean ignored Michael as he went up to the door and banged on it. ‘Put the dog and strippers away and get some clothes on!’ he shouted.

‘I uh…I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Gabriel said as he rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

Sam looked down at Gabriel with a smirk. ‘We checked the camera,’ he said.

Gabriel ducked his head and laughed nervously. ‘I-I’m not cheating on you?’

‘No, you’re just playing with yourself,’ Sam replied. ‘Put Sugar and Spice away. I promise we can play with them later if you really want to.’

Gabriel perked up and vanished. The scraping of heavy metal against concrete could be heard, followed by more banging and crashing along with some cursing. Finally, the door to the panic room open inward, showing Gabriel. He wore a white tank top and red silk boxers. He rubbed his hands together as he cautiously stepped out of the room. He glanced up at Michael and quickly averted his eyes, going straight to Sam and immediately clinging onto his arm. ‘I-is my…is my dad really still alive?’

Michael stared at Gabriel. ‘Yes,’ he eventually said. ‘The demon lives.’

Gabriel relaxed minutely and nodded. ‘Thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me, thank your Hunter and his brother,’ Michael said.

‘Against my better judgment, I vouched for Crowley,’ Dean said as he looked at the door. ‘Why did you…?’

‘So the filing cabinet would keep it shut,’ Gabriel proudly replied. ‘Smart, right?’

Dean looked up as he processed the information. ‘Uh…sure. Explains all the chairs under the doorknobs.’

Gabriel smiled widely and nodded. ‘I planned for every sort of forced entry!’

‘Half the chairs were on the wrong side,’ Dean said as he turned and headed back upstairs.

Gabriel’s smile fell, and he looked up at Sam. ‘He’s joking, right?’

Sam shrugged and pulled his arm from Gabriel’s hold. He hugged his angel and kissed the top of his head. ‘You’re safe. That’s all that matters.’

Bobby and Michael watched in silence as the pair followed Dean up the stairs. Bobby turned to Michael, shaking his head. ‘You sure he’s your kid?’

‘He takes after his mother,’ Michael softly replied. ‘She could adapt to any situation, but she…’

‘Was a bit of a flake?’ Bobby supplied.

Michael nodded, letting a smile form. ‘Never with anything truly important. Just with small things.’

‘Why’d she leave?’ Bobby asked after a moment of silence. ‘Crowley said she didn’t approve of how you were raising Gabriel.’

Michael looked down and sighed. ‘In the beginning, I was…much more intense about my beliefs. I should have been more focused on being a father, but when he began showing signs of just how powerful he was…all I saw was a potential ally.’

‘What about now?’

‘Now… Well, it still annoys me that he wastes his power on such…frivolity. As much as it hurts, I am glad that he has a father that cares. I must admit, after Lailah’s death, I didn’t know what to think. I went to her aid, but I was too late. And a… _demon_ had reached her first. The carnage Crowley had caused…,’ Michael trailed off, lost in the memory. ‘Demons would rather run than fight. But Crowley… For a demon to risk their own life…it _has_ to be family. Parent, sibling…or child. Any further, and they don’t bother.’

‘And he went in, guns blazing, for an _angel_ ,’ Bobby said. He watched Michael nod in agreement. ‘Musta confused the hell outta you.’

‘It did,’ Michael admitted. ‘So I sent Balthazar in to find out why a demon would go to all that trouble for an angel.’

‘Balthazar’s one of _yours_?!’ Bobby shouted.

Michael frowned as he crossed his arms. ‘If push came to shove…I’m not certain whose side Balthazar would choose… Yes, he started as mine, but over the years…his contact has become less frequent and nowhere near as informative. He says enough remain useful. Anna was one of mine, too. But she disappeared shortly before one of my men joined Lucifer. I had assumed she was dead.’

Bobby paced as he ran his hand over his face. ‘Wait. You’ve known about Castiel for…for _years_!’

‘Yes.’

‘And you didn’t… _do_ anything?’ Bobby faced Michael, his confusion obvious.

‘What would I do?’ Michael asked. ‘What _could_ I do? When I first learned of Castiel’s existence, I was appalled. I thought of him as an abomination. Something that needed to be killed.’ He raised his hand to silence Bobby. ‘But, the more Balthazar told me about him… He has shown so much compassion and understanding when those around him fear him and hate him. By all rights, Castiel should be a monster, but he’s not. He was raised by a _demon_ , and yet he does not display the same violent tendencies.’

‘Yeah, Cas is a good kid,’ Bobby said gruffly. ‘What are you gettin’ at?’

‘If something that good can come from a demon, then…I’ve all been wrong this whole time.’


	23. Chapter 23

‘Yes, Gabriel. _Everything_ ,’ Crowley said as he stared down at the blueprints spread across the kitchen table. He tapped on the center of one blueprint after the lines finished wavering. ‘There is supposed to be a supply closet here.’

‘No, there isn’t,’ Gabriel insisted with a blush. ‘It’s an empty void where hopes and dreams go to die.’

Crowley raised a brow and looked around the table. ‘It’s the supply closet closest next to my office.’

‘There’s a _heart_ on the ceiling! With _positions_! How many times did I—?! I have to check rooms now before I enter them,’ Gabriel wailed.

‘Why were you looking at the ceiling?’ Crowley asked.

Gabriel blushed brighter and stared at the floor. ‘No reason.’

‘Oh! Is that the Kali closet?’ Balthazar asked with a wide grin. ‘She get you on your back?’

Gabriel’s shoulders dropped as Sam started laughing. ‘It’s not funny. I’m mentally scarred for life,’ he said miserably.

Sam leaned down and whispered a promise of how he would help erase any and all traumatizing memories after they got Castiel back. He smiled as Gabriel reluctantly agreed and leaned against him.

Crowley looked between the two and shook his head as he directed his attention back to the blueprints. ‘As I was saying… There are several backdoors and unguarded entrances. Once we get in, there are more than enough hidden passages to safely navigate the building,’ he explained, pointing out several doorways.

‘Don’t you think he would have noticed that the walls are thicker than normal?’ Bobby asked.

‘It’s called “magic”,’ Crowley said as if speaking to a child. ‘If you use the right spells, then you can—’

Bobby shut Crowley up with a glare. ‘All right. I get it. So why doesn’t Cas use them to escape?’

‘A blood spell of some sort, if I had to guess,’ Crowley replied. ‘Probably ordered to stay put. And if that isn’t the case, then why let on to one of the advantages you do have?’

‘So where’s Cas’s room?’ Dean asked, staring at the blueprints.

Crowley pulled out a sheet that displayed one of the upper floors. ‘Seventh floor, northeast corner,’ he said, tapping on the outline of the room. ‘Gabriel’s is on his left, mine is on his right.’

‘You think that’s where they’d keep him?’

Crowley nodded. ‘It’s definitely one of the more defensible positions… Hard to get to if properly guarded. Even when you take the passageways.’

‘So we stick to hidden passages and carefully make our way up,’ Michael said. ‘There are plenty of them. It shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.’

Crowley let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Obviously, someone doesn’t know how to read blueprints with warding. Gabriel. Would you be so kind as to enlighten him?’

Gabriel stepped up the table and snapped his fingers. About half of the lines shifted in color. ‘So, red halls are demon-friendly, blue is angel-friendly, green means everyone, and yellow is for humans-only,’ he explained.

‘None of them lead to Castiel’s room,’ Michael pointed out in monotone.

Crowley licked his finger and traced a line from his room to Castiel’s then from Gabriel’s.

‘I never knew that was… All those times I was grounded…’ Gabriel trailed off in thought. ‘And that’s how he got out all the times _he_ was grounded.’

Crowley shrugged in response. ‘He only ever went to the kitchen.’

Meg laughed and quickly covered her mouth. ‘Sorry. I caught him a couple times in the kitchen and the third floor lounge. He always had his wings hidden under his stupid trench coat. Everyone knew it was him.’

‘He wouldn’t even bother to sneak back in,’ Anna added. ‘Just waltzed right up to his door and would stare at whoever was guarding it until they opened it for him.’

‘Why would you tell _him_ and not _me_?!’ Gabriel whined, his wings twitching in irritation.

‘I never told him. He found out,’ Crowley replied as he sifted through more papers and placed new lines. ‘Do you remember when he went through puberty?’

There was a collective groan around the table.

‘What? What happened?’ Dean asked, looking around.

‘An angel going through puberty is…quite the event,’ Michael replied. ‘Demons even more so. I can only imagine what a half-breed would do.’ He looked at Crowley and was surprised when the demon looked up with a solemn expression.

‘He had a bit of a god complex for about half a year. Then he set fire to the fourth floor because he didn’t like the color of the curtains. The building was mostly evacuated for about two years,’ Crowley said. ‘It was not a good time. My profits were cut by about ten percent.’

‘Mindless destruction one day, then wanting to adopt every homeless animal in existence the next,’ Gabriel added. ‘ _I_ just dyed the water supply and thought everyone wanted to talk to their food.’

‘And the doors not matching up correctly?’ Crowley asked, and Gabriel ducked his head, mumbling an apology. ‘How many times did the front entrance lead to the roof?’

‘You can warp space?’ Michael asked, surprised. ‘Can you still do that?’

Gabriel shook his head, staring at his feet. ‘Not there.’

‘The building’s warded against most of Gabriel’s tampering,’ Anna explained. She looked to Crowley and tilted her head in question. ‘If we could get to the warding…it could potentially tip this fight in our favor.’

Crowley glared at the blueprints as he tapped his chin. He waved his hand over the papers, and a smattering of symbols appeared. ‘Tear it down. Tear it all down.’

‘There are…wards against _demons_!’ Michael said. ‘You limited your _own_ power?’

Crowley shrugged in response. ‘I’m a businessman. Some sacrifices have to be made in order to turn a profit. I can’t have demons and angels fighting nonstop.’

‘It takes us down to about half power,’ Meg said. ‘Big surprise the first time you lash out and find your attack didn’t do what you wanted…’

The Hunters looked around the table at the angels and demons before sharing a look.

‘So you guys are used to working at half power,’ Dean said. ‘Does that mean you go full power when you’re out of the building, or…’

Sam looked down at Gabriel, who had begun shuffling his feet.

Gabriel’s eyes darted around the table and caught Michael’s interested stare. He pressed closer to Sam and relaxed a little when an arm wrapped tightly around him. ‘I, uh… I can do a lot more than you’ve seen…’

‘ _More_?’ Bobby asked in disbelief.

‘Er…yeah,’ Gabriel quietly replied. ‘If we take down the warding, I could make all doorways lead to about a mile away. Probably get rid of half of Lucifer’s guys before they caught on. Send in a fake army… I could do that with the warding up, but they wouldn’t pack the same punch.’

Bobby whistled and nodded. ‘That’s damned useful.’

‘Illusions and displacement… It’s what I’m good at,’ Gabriel said with a shrug. ‘How do you think I managed to mess with you so much that first week? I think one of your credit cards is still in the middle of your soap,’ he said to Sam.

‘The soap that went missing?’ Sam asked with a grimace.

‘It’s in the chimney.’

‘So which ones to we need to take out?’ Dean asked, leaning over the table. ‘Looks like it’s by floor…’ He glanced up at Crowley and received a nod.

‘Gabriel can get us into the mixed apartments,’ Crowley replied. ‘That would be the best way for us to get inside. From there, we can access the main building’s basement and dismantle the wards to the first floor’s east side. The western half is protected by warding on the second floor.’

‘That won’t work,’ Gabriel argued. ‘All the apartments are warded!’

‘There is a five minute window every hour when the wards against you, specifically, are lowered,’ Crowley explained. ‘Really. I would have thought you’d have figured that out by now. Castiel knows the rotation. How did you think the two of you managed to get by without being detected?’

Gabriel stared at Crowley in disbelief. ‘How was _I_ supposed to know that?!’

‘You weren’t,’ Crowley replied. ‘But I _was_ expecting it.’ He shook his head in dismay. ‘Rather disappointing, actually.’

Sam hugged Gabriel tighter as the angel tensed up in the sudden silence. ‘Look, let’s just work on a plan of how we’re going to get in…’

Gabriel shrugged off Sam’s hold and smiled up at him. ‘It’s not what you think,’ he assured. ‘He’s not disappointed with _me_.’

Sam frowned down at Gabriel in confusion. ‘But, he just said…’

‘It’s a…a missed chance at mischief. Keep everyone on their toes,’ Gabriel explained. He looked around the table at the confused looks that came from everyone that didn’t work for Crowley. ‘I usually get into everything. I tried it once, but gave up because I thought the mixed apartments were just as warded as the main building.’

‘I see,’ Michael said as understanding dawned on him. ‘It would be expected that  in an area where there is a concentrated mix of creatures…you would have just as much, if not more, security than their place of work. They wouldn’t even try beyond the first failure.’

‘And they do try,’ Crowley said with an amused smile. ‘And it _is_ quite secure. Just not with Gabriel for the specific reason of needing to get back in undetected. The basement is the only floor of that building that does not record the movements of my…more trusted employees.’

‘Does that include us?’ Balthazar asked, gesturing to Anna and Meg.

Crowley thinned his lips and gave a small shrug. ‘Honestly? It only includes Gabriel.’

‘I’m trusted!’ Gabriel said with a triumphant shout, raising his arms. ‘Wait. Hey, I’m not your employee!’

‘I pay you, don’t I?’

‘That’s _allowance_.’

Crowley raised his brow and turned his attention back to the blueprints. ‘If it makes you feel any better, I trust you more than Castiel. Now, let’s work on this plan.’

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. ‘Do I at least get a plaque?’

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel sat on the floor beneath his window, numbly staring ahead. His eyes were red and puffy from crying nonstop. In his hands were the shattered remains of his cuff.


	24. Chapter 24

The plan was to enter the mixed apartments from a warehouse about a half mile away. After a couple tries, Gabriel had managed to connect a door in the warehouse to one in the apartment basement. Quickly the group of angels, demons, and Hunters filed through the door. Once on the other side, both Michael and Karen could feel a difference in the air.

‘I do hope we won’t be fighting with these wards up,’ Michael said.

‘As long as you stick to the plan, we’ll be fine,’ Crowley replied as he led the way to a door with sigils carved into it. He turned to face the group and reached into his coat. He pulled out the knife he had tried to trade for his sons and held it out to Sam. ‘Lose this, and I will make you wish you lost your life instead.’

Sam took the knife when Gabriel gave him an encouraging nudge.

Crowley reached back into his coat and pulled out a familiar looking Colt. He eyed Dean before handing it over. Dean grasped the gun, but Crowley held on keeping Dean’s eye. ‘You have six bullets. Make. Them. Count.’

Dean nodded stiffly, and Crowley let go.

Crowley turned back to the door and traced his fingers over a few of the sigils. They glowed under the contact, and the edges of the door lightly glowed. ‘We don’t have much time. Gabriel might not show up on the radar, but _we_ do. I’ll show you how to take down the wards with the first one, then we split up to cover more ground. Got it?’

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel sat on the edge of his bed, wondering how far he could make it if tried to escape. He looked up as Lucifer entered the room. He quickly cast his eyes downward and hugged himself. ‘What do you want?’ he asked in a hoarse whisper.

‘I thought you might want to know that your…friends are here to rescue you,’ Lucifer replied. He smiled at the glimmer of hope that Castiel’s face betrayed. ‘Granted, it’s much sooner than I had been anticipating… I was hoping to have a better grasp of exactly what you are capable of before dealing with them. Although, I would love to know how they snuck past my lookouts. Would you happen to know, Castiel?’

Castiel dug his fingers into his arms as he nodded against his will.

‘How did they sneak by, Castiel?’

‘G-Gabriel… He can warp space.’ Castiel whimpered as Lucifer laced his fingers through his hair.

‘Thank you, Castiel. It’s too bad you don’t fully control your power,’ Lucifer said. ‘It was a pity what happened to Uriel. You could have saved him so much suffering…’

Castiel cringed at the reminder of the horrified scream. Lucifer had ordered him to smite the unsuspecting angel when his food was delivered. He had tried to fight the command, but he still felt the power rush through him, so he hadn’t been expecting Uriel to survive the smiting. It didn’t register with him until he realized that the screaming hadn’t stop. He was pulled from his thoughts as Lucifer spoke again.

‘Speaking of Uriel… They should be coming across him any time now. Well, what’s left of him.’

.-.-.-.-.

Anna could feel the presence of a familiar angel. She looked away from Crowley’s demonstration of how to dismantle the wards and frowned. If she could feel _him_ , then there was no doubt that he could feel _her_. She quietly moved away from the group and headed down the hallway, following the feeling. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Karen following her with a curious expression. ‘A problem I should have tried to take care of a long time ago,’ she explained.

‘I’ll help,’ Karen offered. ‘If you don’t mind.’

Anna nodded and led the way. She stopped in front of a closed door. She recognized it as leading to the building’s electric supply. She narrowed her eyes as she cautiously opened the door, expecting a trap.

Behind Anna, Karen gasped at the sight of a heavier set lower angel bleeding out on the floor. His dark skin had been burned away in spots, the pale yellow feathers of his wings were singed black, and one of his eyes had been burned out.

‘Uriel…’ Anna knelt down for a closer look.

Uriel opened his one good eye. ‘Anna. So, you _are_ still alive… You look disgusting,’ he croaked.

‘Better than you, at least,’ Anna replied.

‘What happened?’ Karen asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Uriel laughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. ‘Lucifer wanted to see if that _freak_ could smite an angel,’ he replied. ‘Apparently, he couldn’t get it right.’

Anna stood and stared at Uriel before kicking him in the head then stepping on his neck, pulling a choked cry from the burnt angel. ‘ _You_ don’t get to call him that,’ she hissed. ‘You haven’t earned the _right_ to say _anything_ about him. Karen?’

Karen nodded and stepped forward. She leaned down and stabbed Uriel in the chest. She looked up at Anna in curiosity. ‘For a moment, it sounded like you actually cared about Castiel.’

‘It’s complicated,’ Anna replied with an embarrassed huff.

‘You understand each other,’ Karen said softly in realization, her eyes drifting to just past Anna’s shoulder. Anna remained silent, but she continued.  ‘His wing color… Your _lack_ of wings… That’s the worst thing an angel can do to themselves, and Castiel’s wings are…well. Either way, you both attract the wrong sort of attention.’

Anna avoided Karen’s gaze and stepped out of the room. ‘We should get back,’ she said quietly.

They returned to the rest of the group, and Anna approached Crowley. ‘They’re expecting us,’ she said. ‘We found one of Lucifer’s angels, Uriel, in electrical. He was…half-smote.’

Michael faced Anna and narrowed his eyes. ‘Uriel? That _traitor_?’

Anna nodded. ‘The whole reason I dropped off the grid,’ she replied. ‘He wanted me to join Lucifer. He didn’t like my answer.’

‘Yes, yes. And instead of a life spent running, a minor operation was the better option,’ Crowley finished.

‘I wouldn’t consider it minor,’ Anna grumbled, crossing her arms.

‘You said half-smote,’ Sam said. ‘Was it because he’s an angel, or do you think Cas is fighting Lucifer?’

‘Fighting back, I should assume,’ Michael said, and Anna nodded. ‘I never counted Uriel as a trusted member of my faction. He was useful, but far from anything that could prevent a smiting.’

‘And if fighting the spell is like fighting the cuff, then Cas is putting himself through hell,’ Dean pointed out. ‘We gotta get to him, quick.’

‘The sooner, the better,’ Gabriel added. ‘I can’t reach him through all the warding, but I can tell he’s majorly stressed out.’

‘Then we better hurry along,’ Crowley said. He pointed to Balthazar and Meg. ‘You two with the Hunter and the missus.’

‘I’m with Sam!’ Gabriel declared.

‘Me, too,’ Dean said.

Crowley glared at the trio before turning to face Anna and Michael. ‘I guess that leaves us three together. This should prove interesting.’

.-.-.-.-.

A knock sounded on Castiel’s door, and a lower angel entered the room. The angel didn’t look up as he addressed Lucifer. ‘Sir… We…we’ve lost track of them,’ he said quietly. He cringed away as Lucifer slowly turned to face him.

‘I see… Very well. Gather the others and double the guard on this floor and the floors above and below us.’ Lucifer looked at Castiel and tilted his head. ‘Can your brother reach this room from where he currently is?’

Castiel shook his head. ‘The warding prevents it,’ he whispered.

‘So they can’t just barge in.’

‘No.’ Castiel’s shoulders shook as he stared at the floor. ‘Please don’t hurt them,’ he begged.

‘I can’t promise that, Castiel. I can, however, promise that they will be in for quite the surprise if they _do_ manage to reach you.’ Lucifer gently lifted Castiel’s chin. ‘Castiel, you will not leave this spot. You will remain where you are, and if anyone that is not me approaches you, you are to smite them.’

Castiel choked back as sob as tears ran down his cheeks. ‘Please, no…’

Lucifer headed to the door and paused, his hand on the doorknob. ‘Oh, and Castiel… You are forbidden to warn them.’

Castiel broke down into heaving sobs as the door shut. He hugged himself, wrapping his wings around himself, praying that no one would find him.

.-.-.-.-.

The three groups slowly made their way to each floor. Crowley, Michael, and Anna took care of one side, freeing up half the floor above so that Bobby and his group could release the rest of the floor below them from the warding’s spells. As the floors’s spells were lifted, Sam, Dean, and Gabriel would pick off as many of Lucifer’s men as they could without being noticed and take out the few lingering dampening spells they came across.

‘This is getting stupid,’ Dean muttered as they finally reached the fifth floor. They were so close, but still so far away. At the rate they were going, it would be at least another hour until they reached Castiel. He looked around, and as Sam and Gabriel were distracted with a demon, he snuck off down one of the side passages.

He had studied the blueprints, expecting something like this to happen. He kept to as many of the passages that had been marked as human-only as he could, making his way to the sixth floor. He reached the seventh floor, and his heart beat faster the closer he got to Crowley’s room. As he entered the lavishly decorated room, he wondered if he should have waited. Or at least told Sam. He shook his head, confident that the moment Sam noticed he was missing, he would know exactly where Dean was.

Crowley’s room was large with dark cherry furniture. Dean grimaced at the plantation-style bed, its posts reaching to just below the ceiling. A photograph on the nightstand to the right of the bed caught Dean’s eye, and he got closer to inspect it. He lifted the simply framed photo and smiled. He immediately recognized Crowley. Next to Crowley was an Archangel with honey blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and pale yellow wings. A few of her feathers stuck out at odd angles. In her arms was a toddler angel with black wings, glaring hatefully at the camera as he clutched tightly to his mother. In front of Crowley stood a preteen Gabriel, grinning ear-to-ear.

Dean set the photo back down with a soft smile. He turned to wall that the bed faced and gripped the Colt tightly. His apprehension grew as he drew closer. He pressed his hand against the wall where he knew the hidden door was. The wall gave a little and slowly slid over, revealing a short passage. Dean steeled himself headed in. In a few short steps, he was in front of another small door. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door and entered another large bedroom.

The room was very plain compared to Crowley’s, but still just as lavish with its bay window and large flatscreen mounted on the wall. A quick sweep of the room, and Dean found Castiel sitting on the edge of his bed, shaking and hugging himself.

Everything else forgotten, Dean dropped the gun and ran to Castiel’s side. ‘Cas!’

Castiel’s head shot up, and he looked at Dean in a mix of relief and horror. He brought his hands up in front of him. He couldn’t warn Dean, so he did the only thing he could think of. ‘I hate you!’ he screeched. ‘Please,’ he begged, leaning away as Dean drew closer, warning tingles running up his arm. ‘Don’t touch me, don’t come near me! I-I…I don’t need you!’

Dean slowed, but continued to edge closer. ‘Cas… That’s not you talking,’ he said softly. ‘It’s gonna be okay. I’m here now.’

Castiel whimpered as he made to move away, but Lucifer’s hold over him forced him to remain in place. He watched helplessly as Dean knelt in front of him, giving Castiel a reassuring smile.

‘I’m gonna get you outta here,’ Dean promised.

Castiel felt his hand rise against his will, and he struggled to keep it down. He let out a pained cry as jolt after jolt of pain ran through his body.

Dean frowned as Castiel’s hand came to rest on his forehead, and his eyes widened in realization. Castiel had been trying to warn him as best he could. Blood slowly seeped out from Castiel’s nose and a tear of blood flowed down his cheek.

‘C-Cas… It’s okay,’ Dean whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned into Castiel’s touch. ‘I love you, Castiel. Please. Don’t fight it. It’s okay.’

Castiel choked out a sob as he lost the fight against the command. He felt his power surge through his arm and into Dean. But…there was no scream.

Dean opened his eyes in confusion. He had felt a warm pulse on his forehead, but nothing more. He stared up at Castiel, and a smile formed on his lips. ‘Hey.’

Castiel opened his eyes and stared at Dean in shock. He let out a relieved laugh. ‘Y-you’re alive,’ he said weakly.

‘I guess being “pure” has its perks?’ Dean said as he stood and held out his hand to Castiel.

Castiel smiled weakly at Dean, wondering if the Hunter would be able to carry him out. Just as he placed his hand in Dean’s, a loud shot rang out.

Dean’s smile slipped as blood bloomed across his chest and dripped down. ‘Cas…’

Castiel was numb with shock and horror as Dean fell forward onto the bed. Movement caught his eye, and he focused on Lucifer, standing on the other side of the room. In Lucifer’s hand was the Colt.

‘Apparently, purity doesn’t stop bullets.’


	25. Chapter 25

Sam pulled a demon into the hidden corridor and killed him with the knife Crowley had given him. He had to admit that the knife was the most effective weapon he had ever wielded against demons. No long and messy rituals. Just a single thrust into what counted as a vital organ for humans, and the demon would flicker with a light from the inside and die instantly. He looked over his shoulder at Gabriel. He frowned when he noticed that Dean was missing. ‘Where’s Dean?’

Gabriel looked around. He tried to extend his senses, but with some of the dampening spell still intact, he could only locate Bobby on the floor below them. At least, he assumed it was Bobby since there were two angels and a demon with the human. He shrugged in response. ‘I can’t tell,’ he replied, sharing in Sam’s worry. ‘You don’t think he went after Cas, do you? It’s too dangerous!’

Sam looked away in annoyance. ‘I think that’s exactly what happened. Shit. Dammit. We can’t take our time anymore.’ He looked down at Gabriel, studying the short angel. ‘Do you think you can get to the others and have them meet up here?’ he asked.

Gabriel bit his lip as he thought. ‘I think so,’ he said with a slow nod. He walked up to the door that led to the hallway and concentrated as he placed his hand on the latch. The problem would be finding everyone. A soft glow emanated from the outline of the door. He opened it, and, instead of the hallway, it now led to another dark passageway. ‘Stay here. I’ll be right back.’

Sam waited, and in a few minutes the door glowed again and opened. Gabriel hurried through and waved the rest of the group in.

‘Faster,’ Gabriel urged. ‘I’m going through a ward, and I can’t keep this up forever!’

Meg was the last through, and the door snapped shut behind her.

‘And just what is this emergency?’ Crowley asked, looking around. ‘Where is your idiot brother?’

‘ _That’s_ the emergency,’ Sam replied. ‘Dean’s run off. He’s gonna get himself killed!’

‘I don’t see how that’s my problem,’ Crowley said, adjusting his cuffs.

‘How about this: If he gets caught, then our so-called rescue mission is a bust!’ Sam snapped. ‘It’ll be harder to sneak around, and if Cas really _is_ in his room, then they’ll fucking _move him_! It’s not just Dean that’s in danger, it’s _all_ of us. Cas, too.’

Crowley took a steadying breath as he glared up at Sam. The Hunter had a point, as much as he hated to admit it. ‘Very well,’ he bit out. ‘And what do you suggest we do?’

‘We make one final push,’ Michael suggested. ‘Give it everything we’ve got. Rush them. They certainly won’t be expecting it, and it will distract from Dean’s movements if he’s close to Castiel.’

‘I can get the rest of the warding,’ Meg said, stepping up.

‘You’re not fast enough,’ Anna pointed out distastefully. ‘You get the East side, I’ll take the West.’

Meg eyed Anna for a moment before eventually nodding. With that, they headed off in different directions.

Crowley turned to face the others, looking at what he’d been reduced to working with. ‘Well, then. Let’s get to it, shall we?’

.-.-.-.-.

Castiel looked away from Lucifer to Dean. He shakily reached out to touch Dean, and felt…nothing. No life. No soul. No love. Just a void where Dean should be. He had never felt so alone. He turned his head back towards Lucifer. Lucifer, who had trapped him, controlled him. Forced him to _kill_ one of his friends. Had almost forced him to kill the man he loved. Lucifer, who had taken matters into his own hands and shot Dean with a gun meant for supernatural creatures.

An absolute rage boiled up within Castiel, and he seethed. Lucifer lifted an amused brow at him, and that was enough to break the dam. The loneliness, the despair, the uselessness, and the hatred he had been feeling since he had first met Lucifer was let out in a dark wave of energy that quickly pulsed out from Castiel with an anguished scream.

Lucifer was thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious as everything around Castiel broke. Glass shattered, and the wood of furniture split in deafening pops. Cracks ran up the walls, and plaster from the ceiling sifted down.

Castiel gasped and twisted to lean over Dean. He struggled to pull Dean onto his lap and held his Hunter close as he sobbed helplessly. There was commotion outside his room, and he heard his door swing open, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. If Lucifer’s minions were there to defend their leader, then so be it. He didn’t want to live. Not with what he had done, and what he was unable to prevent.

Gabriel clapped his hand to his mouth as he ran into his brother’s room. There was so much blood. They were too late. He clenched his eyes shut and blindly threw himself into Sam’s chest, clutching tightly as tears surfaced. No matter how tightly he closed his eyes, the blood and Dean’s limp body were still there. He shuddered as Sam hugged him tightly, shaking and face buried in his hair. ‘Can we go outside?’ Gabriel asked quietly. He felt Sam nod, and was relieved as Sam led him out of the room.

Bobby watched as Sam escorted Gabriel from the room. Balthazar entered soon after with Michael and Karen just behind, the small group of angels dissipated their summoned weapons when they saw Castiel. Michael nodded to Karen, and they quickly went to Lucifer, each taking an arm and lifting the unconscious angel from the floor.

Crowley wordlessly left the room and returned with the demon-killing knife. He advanced on Lucifer, his eyes glowing red, and his face that of pure rage. He paused when Michael’s hand came into his field of vision, held out and waiting. He blinked a few times before his eyes return to a human look. He looked away, eyes catching on Castiel. Distracted by what he saw, he held out the hilt for Michael.

Castiel sobbed uncontrollably as he hugged Dean as tight as he could. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered frantically. ‘I never meant for this to happen… Dean… I love you! I never got to tell you!’

He felt so warm. Uncomfortably warm. He refused to let go of Dean, so he raised his wings from his body in an attempt to ease the discomfort. A cool draft from the broken window brushed his feathers, and he shivered as the warmth quickly left.

He gasped as an arm wrapped around him.

‘If you hug any tighter, I’m gonna die. Again.’

It was Dean’s voice. Castiel was certain that, despite the croak, it was Dean’s voice. He opened his eyes and pulled back enough to see Dean’s crooked smile. He cried out and leaned back as his wings spread out in shock.

Dean stared up at Castiel and frowned. ‘What’s wrong with your wings?’ he asked in confusion. He closed his eyes with a groan. ‘Fuck. Am I still dead?’

Castiel brought his head up and caught the shock expressions of everyone staring at him. Except for his father, who looked on proudly. His brows furrowed, and he slowly turned his head as he brought a wing into view, expecting the worst. What he saw were soft, white feathers. He flexed his wing and confirmed that it was indeed _his_ wing. His head turned quickly as Dean sat up with a soft moan.

Dean leaned toward Castiel, but was stopped by Castiel’s warm hand on his forehead. He felt the familiar pulse from before and frowned.

Castiel blinked and sighed in resignation. ‘Sorry… I can’t…’

Dean laughed as he gently moved Castiel’s hand away. He leaned in further and kissed Castiel, earning an excited hum.

Crowley turned his gaze to Michael and Lucifer. Lucifer was beginning to come to. ‘If _you_ don’t kill him, _I_ will,’ he said.

Michael nodded and waved for Balthazar to take his place in holding up Lucifer. He stroked Lucifer’s hair as he waited for his brother to fully awaken.

Lucifer smiled as he recognized Michael. His brother was safe and with him. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said softly.

‘And I’ve missed who you used to be,’ Michael replied sadly.

Lucifer frowned as he glanced around the room. So, he had apparently failed. His gaze caught on Castiel’s white wings. ‘They’re white.’

‘It would seem you helped him to complete his breakthrough,’ Michael explained.

Lucifer’s eyes narrowed as he noticed that Dean was alive, despite the large blood stains on his torso. He tried to struggle, but the angels holding him were strong. ‘How…?!’ He glared up at Michael. ‘Let me go, brother.’

Michael shook his head sadly and cupped the back of Lucifer’s neck. ‘I’m sorry, Lucifer, brother. But I cannot let this continue.’

‘Castiel! Ki—!’ Lucifer’s mouth hung open in surprise.

Michael pressed their foreheads together, sending feelings of love and regret flowing into Lucifer. He sent all the happiness and satisfaction he had felt from his time working with the Campbells. All the love and innocence he had felt from Mary Campbell. The purity he had felt coming from Dean Winchester. The entire reason he had left his brother.

‘I’m sorry…’ Lucifer whispered as he slumped over, the knife still buried in his chest.

Castiel shuddered and pulled away from Dean’s kiss as he felt Lucifer’s hold over him fade. He giggled giddily as he stood and no pain shot through his arm. ‘I’m free,’ he whispered, staring down at Dean in wonder. He blinked as he remembered the last time he had seen Dean. ‘I’m so sorry!’ he cried out and threw his arms around Dean’s neck as the Hunter stood, toppling them both back onto the bed.

‘It’s okay. Everything’s fine now. You’re safe. I’m alive. Lucifer’s dead. There’s nothing to worry about,’ Dean said, rubbing soothing circles on Castiel’s back.

‘I killed Sam! How can you still love me?!’

‘What? Sam’s fine,’ Dean replied. He looked over Castiel’s shoulder to see Sam and Gabriel entering the room with surprised expressions.

‘B-but I…’

‘You killed an illusion,’ Dean explained. He pointed to the door, and Castiel looked, laughing in relief at the sight of Sam and Gabriel. ‘It was just you and Gabe in the house that night.’

Castiel looked back at Dean. ‘You knew…’

‘Yeah,’ Dean confirmed with a smile. ‘You were actin’ pretty suspicious. _Everyone_ knew somethin’ was up. Those doppelgangers were _meant_ to be killed if it came down to it. Sorry we couldn’t tell you.’

Castiel shook his head. ‘It’s okay. I understand,’ he said. ‘The warding is down…’ He bit his lip and sent a silent request to Gabriel, and with a snap, Dean and Castiel were on another bed in another room.

Dean pushed himself up in confusion. ‘What the hell just happened?!’

Castiel smirked as he pushed Dean back down. ‘A favor from Gabriel,’ he replied.

Dean smiled back. ‘Nice favor,’ he replied. He chuckled as he watched Castiel’s wings slowly fade back to black. ‘Hey, you’re wings are going back to normal!’

Castiel’s eyes glowed softly as he grinned down at Dean, spreading his wings wide. ‘Possibly because I have slightly demonic intentions at the moment…’


	26. Chapter 26

Months had passed, and Sam and Dean had finally created a spell that would work for the new binding cuffs. After finding a proper combination of spells that would work, all it took was a small smear of Dean’s blood across Gabriel’s new cuff to deactivate all of the others. They had originally tried Sam’s, but found out that the spell required the blood of the eldest living relative. The way they had found out that the chain reaction had actually worked came from the inhuman screech Karen had let loose.

After a good hour of being yelled at, Bobby saved the boys by presenting Karen with a beautiful gold ring that had the new binding spell engraved on it. He had even presented it on one knee. Bobby could not recall a time he had seen his angel so happy.

That night, their actions had made the news. Many Hunters and angels were thoroughly confused with what was going on. Some angels had taken the opportunity to enjoy their new freedom, and some chose to stay by their Hunter’s side.

‘We are live with Jo Harvell and her Lower Angel, Ash, at the famous Roadhouse,’ spoke the woman holding the microphone on the TV.

‘Um, hi,’ Jo said with a small wave.

Dean laughed as the young Hunter appeared on screen. ‘Hey, Sammy! Jo’s on TV!’ he shouted.

Sam and Bobby quickly entered the room to find the young blonde Hunter’s awkward smile plastered across the television.

‘You know her?’ Castiel asked quietly. He ran his fingers across his cuff. He had missed the reassuring touch of carved metal for those few short months. It was nowhere near as scuffed as his original cuff, but it had the same devil’s trap carved on the inside, and the same loving warmth of Dean’s soul.

Dean nodded as he threw his arm around Castiel, pulling his angel close to make more room on the couch.

‘Who’s the loser angel with the mullet?’ Gabriel asked through a mouthful of popcorn from his place on the floor in front of Castiel’s legs. Gabriel and Castiel had rarely left each other’s side after being reunited, going so far as to spend some nights huddled together on the couch rather than in their respective Hunter’s bed.

‘That’s Ash,’ Sam replied as he sat on the couch. ‘Really smart. Jo’s mom caught him about ten years ago and handed him down to her when she turned sixteen.’

Dean shushed Sam as Jo began to speak.

‘Well, it was pretty surprisin’… Ash here came out of his room around lunchtime and just…set the cuff on the bar. Said he needed a new one.’ Jo shrugged as Ash nodded along. ‘We have no idea what’s goin’ on. Hunters have been showin’ up all day since it happened, and, well… Everyone’s real confused. Some are real scared.’

‘And how do _you_ feel about this turn in events, Ash?’ the reporter asked.

Ash shrugged, his wings going with the movement. ‘I was kinda diggin’ my bond. Me ‘n’ Jo had a real groove goin’ on. Like I told her ‘n’ Ellen: I need a new cuff. I’ve studied the spells on it, and all I can come up with is that the Witch’s bloodline is responsible. No other explanation.’

‘The Witch’s…? The _original_ Witch?! She has descendants?!’

‘Course. Like she never got laid,’ Ash said with a slight leer.

Just behind Jo, and older woman paced back and forth, a phone pressed to her ear. She began shouting, and the camera zoomed in as Jo turned to look. ‘Mom, shh!!’

‘What’s wrong Ellen?’ Ash shouted, turning to look.

Ellen strode up to her daughter with a sour expression on her face. ‘Them idiot Winchesters is what’s wrong,’ she snapped.

Sam and Dean both sank, cringing. ‘Shit… Really wanted to avoid going public with this,’ Dean muttered.

‘Is it a problem?’ Castiel asked.

‘Interviews… Public knowledge of just who we are,’ Dean replied.

‘And not everyone will take the change too well,’ Sam added.

‘I’ll protect you,’ Gabriel promised.

‘Ma’am, does this have anything to do with what’s going on with binding cuffs?’ the reporter asked.

Ellen looked from the reporter just off screen to the camera. ‘Uh… Oh. I’m on TV,’ she said into the phone.

Karen entered the living room, holding a phone. ‘Is it okay if Ellen tells everyone the good news?’ she asked giddily.

Sam and Dean stared at her with mouths wide open. Dean was the first to recover and he threw his hands up in frustration. ‘Fine! Go ahead! Bury the fuckin’ hatchet!’

Karen let out a delighted squeal. ‘Bury the hatchet, Ellen!’

Sam and Dean watched in horror as Ellen hung up her phone with a heavy sigh. ‘I think y’all need to be interviewin’ one Dean Winchester.’

‘What?! It wasn’t just me!!’ Dean exclaimed. He pointed at Sam as he yelled at the television. ‘ _He_ helped! It wasn’t _all_ my fault!’

‘They can’t hear you,’ Castiel said as he tugged on Dean’s shirt.

‘Dean Winchester?’ the reporter repeated.

Ellen nodded as Jo buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. ‘Him and his brother are pretty well known in the Hunter world.’

As soon as Ellen spoke, Dean felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He slouched back into the couch, letting Castiel wrap around him. The various phones in the kitchen began ringing as well.

‘Apparently they came up with a new binding cuff, voiding all the old ones,’ Ellen said, placing her hands on her hips. She looked straight into the camera. ‘You brought this on yourself, Dean Winchester. Dropping somethin’ like that without any warning. You made your bed, and now you can lie in it.’

‘More like I dug my grave,’ Dean mumbled miserably.

The phones rang nonstop for a good three hours before Karen went outside with a pair of scissors and cut the line. Bobby kissed her when she returned.

‘You coulda just unplugged them,’ he said as she sat on the couch and tried to find a channel that was not talking about the recently freed angels.

‘Wouldn’t have been as satisfying,’ she distractedly replied. ‘There’s a couple news vans out there…’

Bobby shook his head as he sat next to Karen. ‘They’ll keep ‘til mornin’. Gabe’s got the property on lockdown, and Crowley’s sendin’ PR agents. He already emailed Sam a prepared statement.’

‘So who’s going out there in the morning?’ Karen asked.

Bobby sighed as he took of his ball cap and scratched his head. ‘All of us, I guess. Cas say’s he can keep his wings white for about an hour if he doesn’t have to do anythin’ else,’ he replied. ‘Keep answers short and questions to a minimum. Let them see that the cuff can be made from more than silver. And that it can be ring,’ he said as he lifted Karen’s hand and kissed her knuckles, just above her binding ring.

Karen smiled softly. ‘I knew takin’ those boys in would be the best decision we made.’

‘Never doubted it.’

.-.-.-.-.

Gabriel bounced on the bed as he waited for Sam. ‘I’m gonna be famous! You, too!’

‘Yeah, and probably _hunted_ ,’ Sam pointed out as he crawled onto the bed next to Gabriel.

‘No angel would let _anyone_ lay a hand on you or Dean. Not after what you guys just did,’ Gabriel said softly. He pulled Sam on top of him and hooked his arms around Sam’s neck. ‘You freed us. We don’t have to hide anymore. We can live real lives now! Although… Dad might get a little pissed because he’ll end up losing some employees…’

Sam laughed and kissed Gabriel. ‘He sent us approved answers to give the new stations,’ he said. ‘I think he saw this coming.’

‘Dad sees _everything_ coming. I seriously think he’s psychic or something,’ Gabriel replied in distaste. ‘He gave me my plaque.’

‘I don’t care,’ Sam said as he softly nipped at Gabriel’s neck.

‘And that makes five,’ Gabriel moaned.

‘Stop counting,’ Sam grunted as he pulled at Gabriel’s shirt and placed his knee between the angel’s legs.

‘Mmm… Oh! Six _and_ seven!’ Gabriel grinned cheekily when Sam looked up to give him a half-hearted glare. ‘I _love_ this new cuff.’

‘I’m sure you do, but please. If you wanna get laid tonight, then _stop counting_.’

‘I can’t help it,’ Gabriel whined. ‘I feel them every time they climb the fence! Throwing them into the kiddie pool at the Y takes power.’

‘The Y… Gabe, that’s over five miles away!’ Sam said, sitting up.

Gabriel pulled Sam back down. ‘Yeah. Which is why I can’t just ignore it. Takes effort to throw ‘em that far and have ‘em be safe.’

Sam kissed Gabriel deeply. ‘Then how’s about you give me your full attention, and toss them into the shallow end of the lake?’

‘Oh! Good idea! There. Eight’s in the lake,’ Gabriel said. ‘Now. Let’s see just how well this thing gives incentive…’

.-.-.-.-.

‘Everything’s gonna be fine,’ Castiel murmured into Dean’s shoulder as he kissed his way across Dean’s back.

‘No, it’s not,’ Dean wailed miserably. ‘Fuck. We shouldn’t have changed it yet. Not without saying anything.’

‘If you had told anyone, then you would have been in _more_ danger by those that wouldn’t want it to happen,’ Castiel pointed out. ‘You’ll get the new spell out there, and it will all pass.’

Dean leaned back against Castiel and closed his eyes as Castiel stroked his hair. ‘So…the new cuff’s workin’ pretty well, huh?’ he asked, floating in a sea of Castiel’s love. God, how he loved feeling Castiel’s thoughts and emotions drifting through him. Even when Castiel was stressed out, it was still a comforting feeling.

‘No. It’s awful,’ Castiel replied. He laughed as Dean stiffened in his arms in alarm.

‘You liar,’ Dean bit out, relaxing.

‘You did a good job. I sent a picture to Father, and he was quite impressed,’ Castiel said. He nibbled at Dean’s earlobe and smiled as Dean moaned softly. ‘Forget about them. Forget about the cuff. Tonight it’s just you and me. Nothing else. No problems. No worries… Just us.’

Dean shifted and turned to face Castiel. He looked over his angel, his eyes resting on black wings. ‘Cas… I never told you, but… When I…died. When I was in…in Heaven…’

Castiel held his breath. They hadn’t spoken about Dean’s death nor what he had seen. Castiel dreaded the topic. He had seen Dean staring at photographs of his mother, whispering to them with sad, wistful smiles. He swallowed as Dean’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

‘I saw my mom there,’ Dean said with a tight voice. ‘And…it was…perfect. She…she was there…waiting for me. And… Oh, God, Cas!’ He pulled Castiel into a tight hug as his tears spilled. ‘She looked so beautiful and happy… And…and everything was wonderful, and I didn’t wanna leave…’

Castiel’s stomach dropped at the confession, and he closed his eyes. He shouldn’t have been so selfish. He shouldn’t have ripped Dean out of Heaven. Even unknowingly. That was no excuse.

‘But then… I heard your voice,’ Dean whispered raggedly. ‘There was…this warm light, and I heard you, and…Heaven wasn’t good enough. Not without you.’

Castiel breathed in deeply. ‘But…your mother…’

Dean chuckled softly as he pulled back, his cheeks wet. ‘She said you must be somethin’ if you could distract me from paradise.’ He rested their foreheads together and held Castiel’s hands in his own. ‘She wants me to live my life. And I…I know she’ll be there waiting. At the end. But for now… I’m here. With you. And I think I can handle this shit storm I’ve brought down as long you’re with me.’

Castiel smiled softly and tilted his head. He pressed his lips against Dean’s. ‘And I’ll be with you until the end and after.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that’s read this and stuck with me! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed (for the most part) writing it!


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